Canada’s main stock index climbed on Wednesday, led by National Bank and other bank stocks, but gains were offset by declines in energy stocks hurt by lower oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jumped 77.94 points to greet noon at 15,160.64
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.61 cents to 79.31 cents U.S.
National, which reported better than forecast quarterly results, was among the biggest positive drivers of the index, rising 2.3% to $56.67.
Oil and gas companies retreated with energy names comprising four of the top five biggest drags on the index as lower oil prices weighed.
Individual losses were modest, however, with Enbridge slipping 0.5% to $49.56.
CAE Inc, which provides training for the aviation, defense and health-care industries, rallied 4.6% to $20.90 after Bank of Montreal raised its rating on the company to outperform from market perform.
Prometic Life Sciences jumped another 13.3% to $1.70, extended its previous session’s 25% surge after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the company a rare pediatric disease designation for its plasminogen replacement therapy. National Bank raised its price target on the company after the news.
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $974 in June, little changed from the previous month, but up 1.8% compared with 12 months earlier.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.55 points to 773.45
All 12 TSX subgroups gained ground, most notably health-care, up 1.5%, information technology, ahead 1.2%, and industrials, stronger by 1.1%
ON WALLSTREET
Technology stocks climbed higher on Wednesday following shares of Apple.
The Dow Jones Industrials retained 3.79 points in gains by noon ET to 21,869.16, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most to the gains.
The S&P 500 gained 6.58 points to 2,452.88, with financials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ improved 40.73 points to 6,342.62, leading other major U.S. indexes, and was on track to post a three-day winning streak.
The index received a boost from Apple, which rose 0.2% and hit a record high shortly after the open.
Other major stocks in the sector also rose, including Facebook, Google-parent Alphabet and Netflix. Tech is by far the best-performing sector this year, advancing more than 20%.
Investors also digested a slew of economic data. The ADP National Employment report showed private-sector jobs increased by 237,000 jobs in August, well above the expected 185,000. The ADP report is often used by traders as a preview to the government's monthly jobs report, which is set for release on Friday.
Meanwhile, the second estimate for gross domestic product data in the second quarter showed the U.S. economy grew by 3%, more than the expected increase of 2.7%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sagged a bit, raising yields to 2.14% from Tuesday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 14 cents to $46.58 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices eased back $4.40 to $1,314.50 U.S. an ounce.
