Equity markets in Canada regained some strength on Wednesday as a raft of upbeat corporate earnings lifted investor sentiment and expectations of a swift economic recovery, though lower oil prices capped further gains.
The TSX stayed afloat 9.59 points to approach noon EDT at 19,050.37, off its highs of the morning.
The Canadian dollar rocketed 0.86 cents to 80.14 cents U.S.
Rogers Communications gained, or 2.3% after the telecom giant trumped first-quarter revenue estimates, buoyed by strong demand in its cable unit that provides internet and cloud-based services. Rogers shares gained 68 cents, or 1.1%, to $62.22.
Metro also beat analyst expectations at 62 cents per share, while revenue rose 5.1% to $3.33 billion from a year ago when analysts had expected $3.31 billion. The grocer saw its shares dip $1.73, or 2.9%, to $57.58.
Also among the largest percentage gainers was Gildan Activewear, which advanced 49 cents, or 1.2%, to $41.92.
West Fraser Timber fell $7.44, or 7.2%, the most on the TSX, to $95.63, while the second-biggest decliner was Ballard Power, unchanged at $24.41.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada says March’s Gross Domestic Product rose 2.2% on a year-over-year basis, up from a 1.1% gain in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in March.
Also, the Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of 0.25%, with the Bank Rate at 0.5%and the deposit rate at 0.25%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 7.72 points to 922.48.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, as health-care shot up 1.5%, gold prospered 1.1%, and energy rumbling 0.7% higher.
The five laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 0.8%, while real-estate and financials each lost 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday led by a rebound in cyclical names as equities tried to recover from two straight days of losses.
The Dow Jones Industrials restocked 204.85 points to pause for lunch Wednesday at 34,026.15
The S&P 500 regained 26.28 points to 4,161.22.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 103.64 points to 13,889.91.
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings led a pop in reopening plays after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock. Norwegian jumped more than 7%, while Carnival and Royal Caribbean rose about 3% each.
United Airlines rebounded 2% after plunging 8.5% on Tuesday after the carrier reported its fifth consecutive quarterly loss and said that business and international travel is still far from a recovery. The State Department said it would increase “do not travel” advisories to 80% of the world’s countries, adding that the pandemic presents an “unprecedented risk to travelers.”
Netflix shares plunged about 8% after the streaming giant reported subscriber additions that fell far short of Wall Street estimates as the demand surge from the pandemic started to fade. The company also said it only expects to add about 1 million subscribers in the current quarter, well below estimates. Shares of Roku fell 3% in sympathy.
More than 70 S&P 500 companies have reported so far, and they posted a 23% upside to analysts’ earnings expectations on average.
The State Department said it would increase “do-not-travel” advisories to 80% of the world’s countries, adding that the pandemic presents an “unprecedented risk to travelers.”
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys slid, raising yields to 1.57% from Tuesday’s 1.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices doffed 80 cents to $61.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices zoomed $16.50 to $1,794.70 U.S. an ounce.