Equities in Canada’s largest centre edged higher at the open on Wednesday, as gains in miners on the back of firmer gold prices offset a 1% slide in the energy sector.
The TSX Composite kicked off Wednesday’s session with a gain of 18.17 points to 20,455.29
The Canadian dollar climbed $0.17 cents to 80.31 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold’s CEO says the company has discovered geological extensions at its Kibali gold mining joint venture in Democratic Republic of Congo that will prolong the life of the mine to 2040.
Barrick shares grabbed 25 cents, or 1.1%, to $23.52.
CIBC raised the target price on MTY Food Group to $84.00 from $74.00. MTY shares faltered 14 cents to $65.50.
National Bank of Canada resumed coverage on Nuvei Corp. with an outperform rating. Nuvei dropped 35 cents to $157.26.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on Standard Lithium to speculative buy from hold. Standard shares hiked 55 cents, or 5.3%, to $11.00.
The United States will lift restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals in early November.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.99 points to 900.78.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher, led by gold, up 0.8%, while information technology raced 0.7% higher and health-care spiked 0.6%.
The four laggards were weighed most by energy, down 1.3%, consumer discretionary, off 0.2%, and financials, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite ticked higher Wednesday as investors digested fresh inflation data and third-quarter earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials sank 153.87 points, to 34,224.47.
The S&P 500 fell 7.6 points to 4,343.05.
The NASDAQ gained 45.36 points to 14,511.29.
Third-quarter earnings season kicked off on Wednesday with JPMorgan Chase, which said that quarterly profit topped expectations following a boost from better-than-expected loan losses. Revenue for the largest U.S. bank by assets also came in higher than expected.
JPMorgan shares fell more than 2% following the report.
Delta Air Lines also reported financial results before the opening bell on Wednesday. The company posted higher-than-expected revenue and its first quarterly profit without counting federal aid since the start of the pandemic.
However, the airline said higher costs of fuel and other expenses will pressure its fourth-quarter bottom line. Shares of Delta shed around 4%.
Apple shares dipped roughly 1% after a Bloomberg News report that said it is likely to cut iPhone 13 production because of chip shortages. Chipmakers including Skyworks and Broadcom were also lower in morning trading.
The Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes from its September meeting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Investors will be looking for clues about timelines surrounding the central bank’s planned taper for its bond-buying program.
The consumer price index jumped 0.4% in September from the month prior and 5.4% year over year, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economists expected to see a month-to-month increase of 0.3% or annualized rate of 5.3%, according to Dow Jones.
Excluding energy and food, the core CPI rose 0.2% month over month and 4% over the last 12 months, against respective estimates for 0.3% and 4%.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys moved higher, lowering yields to 1.55% from Tuesday’s 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 99 cents to $79.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $20.50 to $1,779.80 U.S. an ounce.
