Canada's main stock index jumped on Wednesday, boosted by miners and technology stocks, although a slide in the energy sector limited further gains.
The TSX Composite reached noon hour Wednesday up 73.1 points to 20,510.22
The Canadian dollar climbed $0.19 cents to 80.34 cents U.S.
The Canadian equity index has gained 17.5% so far this year on hopes of a steady economic recovery, but it has recently lost steam on concerns around higher inflation and a slowdown in global growth.
Blackberry proved among the top gainers on the index, picking up 67 cents, or 5.8%, to $12.32.
Another prominent gainer was Eldorado Gold, up $1.06, or 9.8%, to $11.90.
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 12.7 points, or 1.4%, to 909.49.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green, led by gold, up 2.8%, while information technology and materials each sprang up 1.9%.
The three laggards were energy, down 0.9%, consumer discretionary, off 0.5%, and financials, sliding 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 churned lower for a fourth-straight session Wednesday as investors digested fresh inflation data and third-quarter earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its losses of the morning, but remained lower 104.6 points, to 34,273.74.
The S&P 500 fell 0.27 points to 4,350.38.
The NASDAQ gained 61.17 points to 14,527.09.
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 despite the strong earnings report. The stock is up roughly 27% this year.
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 more than 4%.
“We’re at that point where valuations ... stopped going up and, in fact, are coming down, while earnings growth is peaking,” Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, said. “That creates a less upward trajectory for the stock market.”
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 two cents to $80.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $36.10 to $1,795.40 U.S. an ounce.
