Positive earnings reports helped push the Toronto stock market higher Wednesday.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 47.55 points to greet noon at 15,494.10.
The Canadian dollar fell another 0.52 cents at 91.63 cents U.S.
On the earnings front, Cenovus Energy Inc. shares gained 87 cents to $33.68 as the company more than tripled its second-quarter net earnings to $615 million or 81 cents per share as it benefited from increased oil production and higher commodity prices.
Meanwhile, shares of information technology services company CGI Inc. climbed 81 cents to $39.26 after it posted a third-quarter profit of $225.1 million, or 71 cents per share, up 26%. Revenue was up 3.9% to $2.7 billion.
Thomson Reuters posted a quarterly profit of $249 million or 31 cents per share, up slightly from a year ago. The company's adjusted profit was $415 million or 51 cents per share, up from $403 million or 48 cents.
Revenue held steady at roughly $3.16 billion and its shares advanced $1.39 to $41.47.
September copper was ahead two cents at $3.24 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector was ahead.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its Industrial Product Price Index edged down 0.1% in June, mainly because of lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles.
The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index – released in conjunction with industrial products -- rose 1.1%, largely as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 4.94 points to 1,011.56
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by noon, led by health-care and information technology stocks, each up 1.8%, while metals and mining climbed 1.2%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 1.4%, materials, sliding 0.6%, and utilities, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The economy has snapped out of its winter stupor, but investors were playing it cool early Wednesday as they brace for the latest statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 64.46 points midday to 16,847.65
The S&P 500 settled 4.16 points to 1,965.75. The NASDAQ composite gained 8.59 points to 4,451.29, thanks to a big rally in shares of Twitter.
Twitter shares soared more than 20%. The social media company posted surprisingly strong second-quarter sales late Tuesday.
Shares of Buffalo Wild Wings plunged more than 12% Wednesday after the company's outlook for the second half of the year came in below analyst forecasts.
SodaStream said earnings fell 28% in the second quarter, but still came in better than expected. Looking ahead, SodaStream lowered its outlook for sales in the United States. But the stock gained nearly 8%. There also have been recent reports suggesting SodaStream may want to go private.
Shares of U.S. Steel surged after the company reported a net loss that wasn't as bad as feared. The company also said it expects operating income to "increase significantly" in the current quarter.
Amgen shares gained after the company announced it was cutting up to 2,900 jobs, or about 12-15% of its workforce.
Mortgage insurance company Genworth Financial reported earnings that fell short of estimates, sending its stock down more than 11%.
DreamWorks Animation reported a net-loss for the second quarter, sending its shares down 13%.
U.S.-listed shares of Barclays were up more than 3% after the bank's first half earnings were well received.
Edwards Lifesciences, which makes heart valves, also gained on strong earnings.
Kraft Foods and Whole Foods will report after the close.
The U.S. economy has emerged from deep freeze. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic growth, increased at an annual rate of 4% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said.
The second-quarter growth rate was better than expected, and the decline in the first quarter was revised up to 2.1% from 2.9%.
The overall growth rate for the first half of 2014 is 1.8%, which is not far below the 2% average for the past few years.
The job market is also showing signs of strength. Payroll processing firm ADP said private sector employers added 218,000 jobs in July. That was down slightly from the month before.
Still to come, the Federal Reserve will release a statement outlining its latest monetary policies. It's widely believed that the central bank will announce another $10-billion U.S. pullback in monthly bond purchases, but investors will be scrutinizing every word of the statement for clues as to when the Fed plans to raise interest rates.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries slumped, raising yields to 2.54% from Tuesday’s 2.46%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 23 cents to $100.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $5.30 to $1,293 U.S. an ounce.
