Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday as the country's top trade negotiator continued talks to preserve a three-nation North American Free Trade Agreement following Monday's deal.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 21.62 points to kick off Wednesday at 16,377.16
The Canadian dollar ditched 0.1 cents to 77.25 cents
National Bank of Canada reported a 10% rise in third-quarter earnings, beating market expectations, helped by growth in its retail and wealth management businesses.
National shares eked up three cents to $65.22.
Teck Resources declined to fix a start date for an ambitious $4.8-billion upgrade to its Quebrada Blanca copper mine in northern Chile on Tuesday, pending fresh investment from a development partner.
Teck shares faded 18 cents to $30.78.
Eight Capital raised the target price on Bank of Nova Scotia to $94.00 from $93.00. Scotiabank shares docked 87 cents, or 1.1%, to $76.02.
Eight Capital raised the target price on Bank of Montreal to $124.00 from $119.00. BMO shares gained 45 cents to $106.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.61 points to 720.40
All but two of the 12 subgroups were higher in the first hour, as health-care popped 1.1%, consumer staples improved 0.7%, and information technology clicked 0.6% higher.
The two laggards were financials and utilities, each down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded slightly higher on Wednesday as trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada resumed, while a rise in Amazon and Alphabet shares also boosted equities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average doffed 12.55 points to 26,051.47,
The S&P 500 gathered 4.16 points to 2,901.68, as tech outperformed.
The NASDAQ burst higher 27.57 points to 8,057.61, led by gains in Amazon and Alphabet.
Amazon shares rose 1.4% after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock, predicting a $1.2-trillion valuation for the company.
Analyst Brian Nowak said Amazon's advertising, subscription and cloud businesses "will drive higher profitability and continued upward estimate revisions."
Shares of Google-parent Alphabet gained 1.1% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock, making it the highest on Wall Street. The analysts cited Waymo, the company's self-driving auto unit, as the big upside catalyst for the stock.
The U.S. economy grew at a stronger pace in the second quarter than previously thought. The Commerce Department raised its second-quarter economy growth estimate to 4.2% from an initial forecast of 4.1%.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland rejoined the North American Free Trade Agreement talks on Tuesday, a day after the U.S. and Mexico announced they had struck a bilateral trade deal. Freeland told reporters that Mexico's "difficult" concessions to the States earlier this week would help lead the way for productive discussions between the three countries this week.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, raising yields to 2.89% from Tuesday’s 2.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 51 cents to $69.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold fell $3.90 to $1,210.50
