Stocks in Canada’s largest centre opened flat on Wednesday, as losses in resource stocks counteracted improvements in communications stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index deleted 1.69 points to open Wednesday at 16,579.04
The Canadian dollar sank 0.05 cents to 74.60 cents
Swiss Federal Railways and Bombardier said they are making progress on resolving technical problems with passenger trains the Swiss have ordered and could put five more of them into service within weeks.
Bombardier lost two cents to $2.27.
CIBC cut the price target on ARC Resources to $16.00 from $17.00. ARC shares lost 28 cents, or 3.3%, to $8.23.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Telus to $52.00 from $51.00. Telus took on a penny to $49.34.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 0.4 points to 610.92
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower in the day’s first hour, as gold skipped back 1.4%, while materials lost 0.8%, and energy sagged 0.7%.
The five gainers were led by communications, up 0.4%, health-care, haler by 0.3%, and financials, richer by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday following the release of Apple’s quarterly results and strong jobs data for April.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 42.26 points to 26,635.17, with Apple contributing most of the gains.
The S&P 500 picked up 4.43 points to 2,950.26, to a fresh all-time high as the tech sector gained 1%. The broad index is also having its best start to a year since 1987.
The NASDAQ Composite index gained 33.36 to 8,128.75
Apple shares rose 4.5% after its earnings and revenue for the previous quarter beat expectations. The tech giant’s guidance for the next quarter was also better than expected.
Advanced Micro Devices and Mondelez also gained 5% and 2.9%, respectively, after posting better-than-expected results.
Overall, the corporate earnings season is turning out better than analysts had expected. Of the companies that have reported so far, 75% have beaten earnings estimates.
Equities also got a boost after ADP and Moody’s Analytics said private payrolls increased by 275,000 in April, easily blowing by a Dow Jones estimate of 177,000. The strong gain was led by an increase of 223,000 in payrolls within the services sector.
The report by ADP and Moody’s is largely considered to be a preview for the U.S. government monthly jobs report. Other data set for release Wednesday include manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, and construction spending figures..
The report is the latest piece of economic data to top expectations. Last week, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% in the first quarter, easily surpassing expectations.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were up, lowering yields to 2.48% from Tuesday’s 2.51%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 12 cents to $63.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost a dime to $1,285.60 U.S. an ounce.
