Canada’s main stock index extended gains on Wednesday, led by a rise in commodity-linked stocks, while National Bank of Canada dropped after the lender missed profit estimates.
The TSX had hung onto gains of 64.75 points by noon Wednesday at 20,355.16.
The Canadian dollar marched 0.23 cents to 73.98 cents U.S.
National Bank of Canada shares fell $4.01, or 4%, to $96.46, after the lender missed quarterly profit estimates, hurt by weakness in its capital markets business and higher bad loan provisions. The stock was the biggest loser on the benchmark index.
The company, smallest of Canada’s big six banks, is the latest to set aside more funds in case consumers have trouble paying back their loans and mortgages amid central bank interest rate hikes and elevated levels of inflation.
The National Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal have all missed third-quarter profit estimates on higher loan provisions, with analysts expecting the trend to continue. T-D shares gained 36 cents to $83.61, while Scotiabank retreated 16 cents to $64.36, and BMO shot ahead $2.03, or 1.8%, to $116.33.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.43 points to 586.72.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground by midday Wednesday, energy and industrials each above water 0.7%, while industrials had gained 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 0.5%, while utilities lost 0.4%, and real-estate was 0.1% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks ticked up Wednesday, putting Wall Street on track for a four-day winning streak, as investors assess new U.S. economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 56.6 points to 34,909.27.
The S&P 500 index climbed 21.3 points to 4,518.93, aided by a 1.4% climb in chipmaker Nvidia. Shares of Apple climbed more than 1%, after the company sent out invites for a Sept. 12 launch event where the iPhone 15 is expected to be unveiled.
The NASDAQ index hiked 103.5 points to 14,047.26.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard dipped 8% after reporting quarterly results which included a revenue miss. Shares of Insulet added 8.3% higher after chief executive James Hollingshead increased his personal stake in the company by 19.4%
On Tuesday, the major U.S. stock benchmarks rallied following the release of disappointing consumer confidence figures and a bigger-than-forecast drop in U.S. job openings for July. This sparked hope among traders that the Federal Reserve could lighten its policy stance sometime soon.
Despite the gains, the three major indexes remain on pace for losses in August with just two trading days left. The NASDAQ is poised to end August 2.8% lower, while the Dow and S&P 500 are both slated for drops of around 2%.
Wednesday’s moves come as traders pore over disappointing payrolls data. ADP said private employers added 177,000 jobs in August. That’s well below a revised July number of 371,000. It also missed a Dow Jones estimate of 200,000.
Meanwhile, annual gross domestic product growth was downwardly revised on Wednesday to 2.1% from the previous 2.4% forecast.
This is the second day investors appear to treat weaker-than-expected economic data as good news for stocks.
On Tuesday, the major U.S. stock benchmarks rallied following the release of disappointing consumer confidence figures and a bigger-than-forecast drop in U.S. job openings for July. This sparked hope among traders that the Federal Reserve could lighten its policy stance sometime soon.
Despite the gains, the three major indexes remain on pace for losses in August with just two trading days left. The Nasdaq Composite is poised to end August 2.8% lower, while the Dow and S&P 500 are both slated for drops of around 2%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to Tuesday’s 4.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sifted off 23 cents to $80.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $6.90 to $1,972 U.S. an ounce.