Equity markets in Canada rose on Wednesday, lifted by energy stocks as oil prices gained on signs of improving demand due to countries easing lockdown restrictions worldwide and a fall in U.S. crude inventories.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 153.44 points, or 1%, to reach noon ET Wednesday at 15,038.92.
The Canadian dollar gathered 30 cents to 72.03 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Chorus Aviation, which jumped 20 cents, or 7.3%, to $2.95.
Chorus was followed by oil producer Frontera Energy, which rose 57 cents, or 17%, to $3.92 in tracking higher global oil prices.
Aurora Cannabis fell the most on the TSX at $2.33, or 11.4%, to $18.07, followed by Hexo Corp, which lost five cents, or 6.9%, to 68 cents.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported wholesale sales fell 2.2% to $63.9 billion in March, following three consecutive monthly gains, while April’s CPI fell 0.2% on a year-over-year basis, down from a 0.9% increase in March.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.7% in April, following a 0.9% decline in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 6.1 points, or 1.2%, to 533.91.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided, with energy sprinting 5.1%, industrials up 2.2%, and financials ahead 1.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.9%, while gold dulled in 0.6%, and materials, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities south of the border rose sharply on mid-week Wednesday, lifted in part by solid retail earnings, as traders continue to grapple with the market’s wild moves from this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials screamed 407.19 points higher, or 1.7%, to pause for lunch at 24,614.05.
The S&P 500 hurtled higher 54.02 points, or 1.9%, to 2,976.53.
The NASDAQ perked 197.88 points, or 2.1%, to 9,382.95.
The Dow is down slightly more than 15% and the S&P 500 is about 9.5% in 2020. The NASDAQ is still hanging on to its positive 2.4% gain for the year.
Strong results amid a lockdown from Lowe’s helped market sentiment. The home improvement retailer reported a same-store sales increase for the first quarter of 11.2%. The shares jumped 0.4%.
In another sign of economic activity amid the pandemic, Target said a surge in digital sales fueled a 10.8% increase in same-store sales last quarter. The shares, which are up 13% in the last one month, fell slightly.
Shares of MGM Resorts, United Airlines and Live Nation Entertainment all rose more than 4%. Those companies have all taken a beating this year amid the global economic shutdown.
Investors continue to watch how the reopening of states is going and so far there doesn’t appear to be major spikes in the virus. Oil continued to trade higher on Wednesday as traders bet on more driving activity.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows more than 4.9 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, with over 1.5 million of those infections in the U.S. alone.
The Federal Reserve is set to release its meeting minutes at 2 pm ET.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury slid, raising yields to 0.70% from Tuesday’s 0.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $1.15 to $33.11 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $6.70 to $1,752.30 U.S. an ounce.
