Stocks Perk on Bank Rate Stance
Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday, with communications and financial stocks leading gains, while investors digested the Bank of Canada's verdict on monetary policy.
The TSX Composite recovered 86.98 points soon after Wednesday’s opening bell to 20,462.91.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.18 cents at 73.76 cents U.S.
Economically speaking, the Bank of Canada held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, with the Bank Rate at 5.25% and the deposit rate at 5%. The Bank is continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.
Canada recorded a larger-than-expected trade surplus of $2.97 billion in October, as exports rose marginally but imports slumped, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the seasonally-adjusted IVEY PMI rose to 54.7 in November from 53.4 in October, its highest level since April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 4.34 points to 538.51.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground in the early going, with communications up 1.8%, while consumer discretionary and real-estate each picked up 1.3%.
The two laggards proved to be energy, off 1.2%, and information technology sagged 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as investors cheered economic data indicating inflation is falling.
The Dow Jones Industrials retook 96.94 points at 36,221.50.
The S&P 500 came back to life 10.35 points to 4,577.53.
The NASDAQ gained 25.73 points to 14,255.64.
The advances come on the back of the latest batch of economic data. A drop in labour costs boded positively for the path of inflation, while a jump in productivity signaled the potential for the economy to skirt a recession. Private payroll data from ADP offered the latest indication that the job market, long considered a pain point for the Federal Reserve, was easing.
Cloud company Box tumbled nearly 9% after reporting third-quarter results that came in below analyst expectations. On the other hand, homebuilder stock Toll Brothers gained more than 3% after exceeding expectations on the top and bottom lines.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury picked up ground, dropping yields to 4.11% from Tuesday’s 4.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $1.50 to $70.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $7.90 to $2,044.20.
Provided Content: Content provided by Baystreet. The Globe and Mail was not involved, and material was not reviewed prior to publication.
