Equities in Canada’s largest centre rose on Wednesday as tech and energy shares led broad gains, while investors awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting.
The TSX Composite Index gained 59.56 points, to greet noon hour EDT Wednesday at 23,097.
The Canadian dollar revived 0.19 cents to 73.62 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Brookfield Asset Management asked banks to backstop nearly $10.6 billion of debt for the potential takeover of Spanish pharmaceutical firm Grifols, according to a Bloomberg report.
Brookfield shares fought doggedly ahead nine cents to $63.69.
Elsewhere, Bitfarms’ shares fell 15 cents, or 4.7%, to $3.05 after the Canadian bitcoin miner agreed to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining in a $125-million stock-for-stock merger.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada said July’s Industrial Product Price Index was unchanged month over month and rose 2.9% on a yearly basis. The Raw Materials Price Index rose 0.7% month over month in July and increased 4.1% year over year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.4 points to 573.74.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups had surged by noon hour, with real-estate ahead 0.9%, energy climbing 0.8%, and consumer discretionary stocks better by 0.5%.
The two laggards were gold, slumping 0.3%, while utilities lost 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 inched higher on Wednesday as traders looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting — seeking further insight into the prospect of an interest rate cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial index settled into the red 28.77 points to break for lunch at 40,806.
The much-broader index recovered 5.12 points to 5,602.24.
The NASDAQ added 18.33 points, down from its highs of the morning, to 17,835.27.
Target jumped more than 12% after reporting earnings for the fiscal second quarter that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. But fellow retailer Macy’s dropped more than 12% on a lowered full-year sales forecast.
The Fed minutes are slated for release at 2 p.m. ET. The central bank kept rates unchanged at its last meeting but said it has seen progress in lowering inflation. Investors will look for more clues on future policy moves — especially in September — as market participants remain all but certain of a loosening cycle, beginning in the near future.
Traders are pricing in a 100% chance of a rate cut next month. To be sure, the Street is split over how big the reduction will be.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 3.78% from Tuesday’s 3.81%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained four cents at $73.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sagged $3.70 to $2,546.90.
