Equities in many of the worlds major centres rode their energy brethren to new heights Wednesday, as the conflict raged in Russia and Ukraine. Investors also took in the latest move by the Bank of Canada.
The S&P/TSX Composite flew 251.13 points, or 1.2% to end Wednesday’s session at 21,255.64.
The Canadian dollar sprang up 0.6 cents at 79.17 cents U.S.
Among the big winners Wednesday, Rogers Communications hiked $1.89, or 2.9%, to $67.48.
TD spiked $2.42, or 2.5%, to $101.53.
Canadian Natural Resources added $12.53, or 2.2%, to $72.89.
Scotiabank jumped $2.39, or 2.6%, to $43.28.
Nutrien strengthened $2.73, or 2.5%, to $110.96.
The Bank of Canada did Wednesday as many expected it would, raising its trendsetting a quarter point to 0.5%, with the Bank Rate at 0.75% and the deposit rate at 0.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange made its way up 1.67 points to 854.96.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green by the closing bell, led by industrials, ahead 2.8%, with financials and consumer discretionary stocks each up 1.6%
Only gold missed out on the festivities, losing 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Wednesday despite a continued surge in oil prices surged amid the intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Dow Jones Industrials skyrocketed 596.4 points, or 1.8%, to 33,891.35. It was a broad rally, with all 30 stocks in the Dow moving higher. Shares of Caterpillar rose more than 5%, while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs each rose 2%.
The S&P 500 jumped 80.28 points, or 0.9%. to 4,386.55.
The NASDAQ leaped 219.56 points, or 1.6%, to 13,752.02
The gains effectively reversed losses from Tuesday’s session.
Corporate news helped push the market higher. Shares of Ford popped 8.3% after the automaker announced it would split its electric vehicle and legacy production businesses into two separate units. Nordstrom spiked by more than 30% following a strong earnings report.
On the downside, First Solar shares tumbled more than 9% after the company misses estimates on revenue and issued disappointing guidance.
Earnings season continues with several tech companies set to report on Wednesday. Okta, Pure Storage and C3 AI will report after the market closes. ChargePoint is also scheduled to report after the bell.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before Congress on Wednesday to give his semi-annual monetary policy update. The central bank chief said that rate hikes are likely to begin this month despite the “highly uncertain” impact of the war in Ukraine, and that the Fed would make progress on but not finalize a plan to reduce its balance sheet.
Markets also were digesting the State of the Union speech from President Joe Biden, who offered little in the way of new policy details while urging support for Ukraine and reiterating many of the goals for his domestic agenda.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury moved downward, boosting yields to 1.91% from Tuesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices popped $8.12 to $111.53 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $14.90 to $1,928.90 U.S. an ounce.