Equities in Canada’s largest centre edged up on Wednesday, led by materials shares, after cooler-than-expected U.S. producer inflation data boosted bets of a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and lifted Wall Street peers.
The TSX Composite Index had gained 78.89 points to near noon EDT Wednesday to 29, 141.90.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.08 cents to 72.21 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks, brokerage Scotiabank raised price target on Teck Resources, citing strong "potential for a bidding war", following the copper miner's deal to merge with Anglo American to create a copper giant. Shares of the firm rose $1.13, or 2.1%, to $55.22
Meanwhile, expectations that the Bank of Canada will resume its easing cycles have supported market sentiment since last Friday, following disappointing jobs data.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 7.39 points to 868.61
Seven of the 12 subgroups were positive, led by gold, better by 1.6%, while materials soared 0.9%, and energy was ahead 0.6%.
The five losing groups were weighed most by telecoms, down 0.9%, consumer staples, off 0.4%, and industrials, trailing 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 jumped to a fresh record on Wednesday after a reading on wholesale prices unexpectedly declined, a welcome development for investors clamoring for a Federal Reserve rate cut next week to boost the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 303.6 points to 45,407.98
The broader index surged 24 points to 6,535.61.
The NASDAQ index hiked 71.75 points to 21,983.23, another new high.
Market sentiment was given a boost following the latest producer price index reading, which showed that wholesale prices fell 0.1% in August.
Economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated a 0.3% gain. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, likewise declined 0.1%, while the Dow Jones forecast called for 0.3%.
The report serves as a positive sign regarding the state of inflation in the U.S. economy heading into Thursday’s more closely watched consumer price index reading.
Economists expect the CPI report to show monthly increases of 0.3%, according to Dow Jones. This includes the headline all-items index as well as the core reading that excludes volatile food and energy prices.
If this materializes, the annual headline CPI rate would be pushed up to 2.9%, though the core reading is expected to stay unchanged at 3.1%.
Prices for 10-year Treasury eked up Wednesday, lowering yields to 4.06% from Tuesday’s 4.08%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 89 cents to $63.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $5.70 to $3,687.90 U.S. an ounce.
