Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose on Wednesday, helped by energy stocks, as oil prices gained despite renewed fears about fuel demand recovery due to surging coronavirus cases.
The TSX regained 51.17 points to open Wednesday at 16,562.
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.05 cents to 76.15 cents U.S.
The biggest shareholder in Air Canada and Transat A.T. Inc said on Tuesday the airline’s revised offer for the Canadian tour operator was "a very reasonable one", given the turmoil in the aviation industry.
Shares in the Maple Leaf Airline picked up 33 cents, or 2.1%, to $16.11
Credit Suisse cut the target price on Centerra Gold to $17.00 from $19.00. Centerra shares deducted five cents to $13.20.
PI Financial raised the rating on Fury Gold Mines to buy from neutral. Fury shares tallied nine cents, or 4.2%, to $2.24.
CIBC started coverage on Trisura Group with an outperform rating and price target of $110.00. Trisura Group shares leaped $2.77, or 3.2%, to $90.62.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were oil producer Vermilion Energy, which jumped 14 cents, or 4%, to $3.68, and Fortuna Silver Mines, which rose 33 cents, or 3.7%, to $9.33, after the miner posted third-quarter data on production of gold and silver.
Empire Company fell 80 cents, or 2%, the most on the TSX, to $38.56, followed by software maker Descartes Systems Group down 84 cents, or 1.1% to $74.16.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 6.61 points to 737.17.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour of trade, with energy soaring 1.4%, gold up 1.3%, and materials ahead 0.8%.
The four laggards were weighed most by communications, down 0.6%, while information technology and health-care each stepped back 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded slightly higher on Wednesday as traders pored through another batch of corporate earnings and looked for clues on further coronavirus aid.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered 65.39 points to begin Wednesday at 28,745.20.
The S&P 500 rallied 6.36 points to 3,518.25.
The NASDAQ picked up 9.94 points to 11,874.28.
Goldman Sachs shares rose around 0.4% after the bank reported quarterly earnings that were much better than expected. The company's results were driven in large part by strong bond-trading revenue. UnitedHealth reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the previous quarter, but the stock fell more than 2%.
Bank of America's earnings topped analyst expectations but the bank's revenue missed the mark, sending the stock down 2%. Wells Fargo shares dipped more than 1% as the bank's third-quarter earnings missed expectations. The bank said its bottom line was impacted by the current low interest rate environment.
Stocks fell on Tuesday, snapping a four-day winning streak. The decline came amid a number of headwinds. Eli Lilly said Tuesday afternoon that it would pause its trial of a coronavirus antibody treatment, news that followed Johnson & Johnson's earlier announcement that it halted its vaccine trial after an "adverse event" was reported. Additionally, hopes for near-term stimulus have faded as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds.
The White House recently proposed $1.8 trillion for an aid package, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said "falls significantly short" of what is needed. On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the Senate will vote on a limited stimulus bill later this month, which will be "targeted relief for American workers, including new funding" for Paycheck Protection Program small business loans.
Despite Tuesday's dip, stocks are higher for October, with the Dow up more than 3% while the S&P 500 has advanced 4%, and the NASDAQ has gained more than 6%.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 0.72% from Tuesday’s 0.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were up 71 cents at $40.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $20.70 to $1,915.30 U.S. an ounce.
