Traders gather at the post that handles MasterCard on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange March 11.Richard Drew/The Associated Press
The Toronto stock market picked up traction on Wednesday near midday on gains across several key sectors.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved 59.92 points higher at 14,701.68, following a big sell-off on U.S. markets in the previous session, prompted by worries about higher interest rates.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.53 of a U.S. cent to 78.33 cents.
Wall Street struggled to move higher with the Dow Jones industrials rising 16.74 to 17,679.68 after plunging more than 300 points on Tuesday. The Nasdaq slid 5.45 points to 4,854.35 while the S&P 500 index was off 0.96 of a point to 2,043.20.
Currency watchers noted the U.S. dollar is strong against many currencies and the loonie is under pressure from the low price of oil, which has been trading at about $50 (U.S.) a barrel — down from more than $100 a barrel last summer.
One long-term investor said the tide had not yet turned for commodities and investors should be cautious, especially given the handful of companies issuing new stock recently.
"People are chomping at the bit to put money back in, they're all looking for bargains," said Norman Levine, managing director at Portfolio Management Corp, told Reuters News Agency. "It's way too early, you're going to get burned."
On the TSX, the energy sector rose 1.2 per cent while the April crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 74 cents at $47.55 (U.S.) a barrel.
The April gold bullion contract was down $10.80 at $1,149.30 (U.S.) an ounce, while the May copper contract was down a 1.4 cents at US$2.61 a pound.
TSX technology stocks were ahead 0.7 per cent, buoyed partly on shares of Constellation Software which jumped four per cent to $441.99.
A subsidiary of Constellation Software bought InterAct911 Corp., a computer-aided dispatch and records management company for primarily U.S. law enforcement. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
In earnings, Quebecor Inc. says adjusted profits at its continuing media and telecom operations rose 3.5 per cent to $50.3 million from a year earlier. On a per share basis, the results were 41 cents, below analyst estimates of 52 cents per share. Quebecor class B shares fell 46 cents to $33.27.
Air Canada has signed a codeshare agreement with Brazil's GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes that will make it easier for travellers to connect through the two airlines' networks. The agreement expands an interline agreement that allows travellers to make a single reservation for flights on both airlines. Air Canada shares rose 26 cents to $12.48.
Meanwhile, European shares bounced back on Wednesday from a sharp sell-off in the previous session, as a drop in the value of the euro lifted stocks in the region's exporters.
Telecom Italia also surged, which traders said was down to expectations of a consolidation in the domestic mobile phone sector.
Germany's DAX, whose constituents include major exporters BMW and Volkswagen, touched a new record high, while the broader pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 1 per cent.
The euro fell to below $1.06 for the first time in 12 years on Wednesday, extending a broad decline since the European Central Bank kicked off a 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) asset-buying program at the start of the week.
With a file from Reuters