Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, July 23, 2012 in New York.Henny Ray Abrams/The Associated Press
North American stocks were up slightly in midday trading on Wednesday, supported by speculation that the European Central Bank could make a bold move this week to help stabilize the euro zone economy.
Shortly after noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 30 points or 0.2 per cent, to 13,066. The broader S&P 500 was up 1 point or 0.1 per cent, to 1406. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 31 points or 0.3 per cent, to 11,972.
The moves follow reports that the ECB could announce as early as Thursday a proposal to buy unlimited quantities of government bonds, in an attempt to drive down the borrowing costs of countries like Spain and Italy. The plan would involve buying shorter-term government bonds, up to three-years.
The European sovereign-debt crisis has been weighing on markets for years, and the occasional flare-up has roiled major indexes in North America. Compounding the problem is that the euro zone is struggling with a recession and debilitating unemployment, even as governments slash budgets to bring down deficits.
Among European indexes, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent and Germany's DAX index rose 0.5 per cent.
FedEx Corp. fell 1.3 per cent after cutting its quarterly earnings forecast and pointing to a weaker global economy. The new forecast implies the company's first earnings decline in about three years.
Facebook Inc. rose 4.6 per cent after founder Mark Zuckerberg said he would not sell his share holdings for at least one year. A rash of insider sales have been weighing on the social media stock in recent weeks, after restrictions on some early investors were lifted.
TransAlta Corp. fell 4 per cent, hitting its lowest level since 2000, after it announced a $318-million (U.S.) deal to buy a power station in Western Australia and said it would raise $275-million (Canadian) by selling more than 19 million shares.
David Berman