Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday, helped by a rise in oil prices and the easing of coronavirus-driven lockdowns in some countries.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index popped 218.06 points, or 1.5%, to open Wednesday at 15,016.33.
The Canadian dollar increased 0.36 cents to 71.78 cents U.S.
Cenovus Energy swung to a quarterly loss, hurt by a significant decline in global demand for crude oil caused by the coronavirus outbreak and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Cenovus shares vaulted 25 cents, or 5.6%, to $4.63.
Loblaw Cos reported a 10.7% rise in quarterly revenue, as consumers spent more on essentials at its pharmacies and food stores amid the coronavirus-led lockdown. Loblaw shares descended $1.70, or 2.3%, to $71.67.
China's Zijin Mining has warned Papua New Guinea that its failure to renew the lease of a gold mine it jointly owns with Barrick Gold there could damage bilateral relations. Barrick shares ditched 43 cents, or 1.1%, to $37.30.
RBC cut the rating on Bombardier to sector perform from outperform. Bombardier shares gained 2.5 cents, or 5.8%, to 45.5 cents.
CIBC cut the rating on Extendicare to neutral from outperform. Extendicare dropped 9.5 cents, or 1.5%, to $6.33.
Citigroup raised the rating on Imperial Oil to neutral from sell. IMO shares leaped $1.10, or 5.5%, to $21.22.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.28 points to 473.17.
All but three of 12 TSX subgroups gained in the first hour, with energy gushing 5.4%, consumer discretionary stocks ahead 2.4%, and financials up 2%.
The three laggards were gold, down 1.4%, consumer staples, off 0.6%, and materials, swooning 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped Wednesday on the back of positive data from a potential coronavirus treatment from Gilead Sciences, while investors digested a sharp drop in U.S. economic activity.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 434.95 points, or 1.8%, to 24,536.50,
The S&P 500 re-stocked 54.54 points, or 1.9%, to 2,917.93.
The NASDAQ Composite screamed higher 204.76 points, or 2.4%, to 8,812.49.
A study of Gilead’s remdesivir drug conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases met its primary endpoint, the drugmaker said, lifting expectations for a potential coronavirus treatment.
Gilead also released the results of its own study, which showed improvement in patients taking remdesivir to treat the virus. Gilead shares jumped 3% after a brief halt in the pre-market.
Sentiment was also lifted as Alphabet shares gained 9.1% after the tech giant reported a revenue growth decline that was less steep than forecast. The company’s YouTube ad revenues also beat expectations.
Other mega-cap tech stocks such as Facebook climbed 4.1%. Amazon gained 0.7% while Apple advanced 2.3%.
The Gilead news along with the strong move higher from Alphabet offset news of a steep drop in U.S. economic activity. U.S. GDP shrank by 4.8% in the first quarter for the country’s biggest contraction since the financial crisis.
Wall Street awaited the latest monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 0.59% from Tuesday’s 0.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices soared $3.05 to $15.39 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped three dollars to $1,719.20 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Sprouts Wings on Positive Gilead News
