Equity Markets
Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday as financial stocks rose and after a report that investors overreacted to European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi's view on fiscal stimulus.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111.82 points, or 0.52 percent, to 21,422.48. The S&P 500 gained 12.46 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,431.84. The Nasdaq Composite added 21.90 points, or 0.36 percent, to 6,168.53.
Investors are gauging the impact of a global ransomware attack that disrupted computers at banks and large companies. The tech index has been under pressure in the last few weeks as investors, concerned with the sector's lofty valuations, shift to defensive sectors.
The Toronto stock market rose 13.12 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 15,294.34, as financial stocks gained as investors priced in a greater chance of a interest rate hike and Empire Co. Ltd. jumped after reporting quarterly results and increasing its dividend. The market also was led higher by broad-based rise in all sectors except utilities.
On Tuesday, Wall Street's S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day drop in about six weeks and closed at its lowest point since May 31. It was spooked after the U.S. Senate delayed voting on a healthcare reform bill, rekindling worries about the timeline of Donald Trump's business-friendly policies.
Shares skidded in Europe and Asia on Wednesday as investors fretted over the possibility of a policy shift toward tightening by central banks. The delayed health care vote and comments by the U.S. and European central bank chiefs spurred the retreat.
Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen had said in London on Tuesday that it was appropriate to "gradually" raise U.S. rates, although there was an acknowledgement that inflation had seen some slippage.
European stocks fell. London's FTSE was off 0.05 per cent, Germany's DAX fell 0.10 per cent, and France's CAC declined 0.13 per cent.
In Asia overnight, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.4 percent as it pulled back from a two-year high hit on Monday.
Japan's Nikkei share average ended down 0.5 percent, as the yen at 111.900 also took advantage of the weaker dollar. The banking and insurance sectors however outperformed on expectations of higher rates.
The Shanghai index was off 0.54 per cent and the Hang Seng fell 0.61 per cent.
Commodities
Commodity markets were also on the move. Crude oil futures gave back some of Tuesday's near 2-percent jump that had come on the back of the weaker dollar and expectations that U.S. crude inventories might decline for a third consecutive week.
Brent crude futures were down 0.2 percent at $46.55 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were down 0.5 percent at $44.04.
The weaker dollar helped bolster spot gold, which was up 0.4 percent at 1,251.59 per ounce.
Currencies and bonds
The Canadian dollar was strongly higher, up half a cent to 76.42 cents (U.S.). The Canadian 10-year bond was off 0.49 at 1.62.
The yield on U.S. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last stood at 2.22 percent, well up from Monday's 2.14 percent levels.
The dollar index, which gauges the U.S. currency against a basket of six major counterparts, edged down 0.2 percent to 96.227, well below its previous session high of 97.447.
The greenback also slumped against the Canadian dollar after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz told CNBC that it looked like the central bank's rate cuts have done their job.
Stocks set to see action
Shaw Communications Inc.'s said its quarterly profit from continuing operations more than doubled, boosted by wireless subscriber gains even as it spent heavily to build up the business. Shaw said its wireless business – the former Wind Mobile that it acquired in early 2016 and rebranded as Freedom Mobile in November – added 20,085 net postpaid customers in the quarter ended May 31. Net income from continuing operations rose to $164-million, or 33 cents per share, in its third quarter, from $74-million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier. Shaw's quarterly revenue rose 2.8 per cent to $1.31-billion.
After a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission announced Wednesday, Royal Bank of Canada will repay $21.8-million to clients who were incorrectly charged investment fees for certain mutual-fund products and fee-based accounts.
The parent of Sobeys is reporting a decline in adjusted earnings for the first full quarter since it installed a new chief executive with a mandate to revive the national grocery business. Empire Co. Ltd. had a $29.5-million net profit attributable to shareholders or 11 cents per share for the quarter ended May 6, which ended the company's 2017 financial year. After excluding major writedowns reported last year, Empire's adjusted profit declined year-over-year to $50.2-million or 18 cents per share. That's down from $95.3-million or 35 cents per share.
Cheerios cereal maker General Mills Inc. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as the company cut back on promotions and kept a tight lid on costs. Net income attributable to the company rose to $408.9 million, or 69 cents per share from $379.6 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 73 cents per share. The company's net sales fell 3.1 percent to $3.81 billion, which beat the analysts' average estimate for the first time in a year. Analysts on average had expected earnings of 71 cents per share and revenue of $3.75 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Its shares rose 1.13 per cent in premarket trading.
Monsanto Co. reported fiscal third-quarter net income of $843-million or $1.90 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.93 per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations of $1.74 per share. Its shares rose 0.64 per cent in premarket trading.
Spectranetics jumped 26.6 percent after Dutch healthcare company Philips agreed to buy the company for $2.16 billion.
KB Home edged up 0.8 percent after the homebuilder increased its full-year forecast.
There may be some market fallout from a major cyberattack, believed to have first struck Ukraine, that caused havoc around the world on Wednesday, crippling computers or halting operations at port operator Maersk, which was unable to take new orders and caused cargo delays, a Cadbury chocolate plant in Australia and the property arm of French bank BNP Paribas.
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Economic News
(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods trade deficit for May is unveiled. Consensus is $66-billion, down from $67.1-billion in the previous month.
(9:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz speaks on a panel at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal.
(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for May are announced. Consensus is a rise of 0.6 per cent from April.
(10:30 a.m. ET) EIA Petroleum Status Report is released.
(2 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Lynn Patterson speaks to the CFA Society in Calgary.
Also: U.S. Fed reports second leg of stress test results on the approval of banks' capital plans
With files from Reuters and Bloomberg