Equity markets in Canada’s biggest centre extended gains on Wednesday as technology stocks rallied after upbeat US earnings signaled stronger AI demand, while advancing heavyweight financials also supported the benchmark.
The TSX popped 272.35 points by noon EDT to 36,380.31.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.01 cents to 71.08 cents U.S.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rate on hold this month and deliver a hike in ?December, according to nearly all economists polled by Reuters
The federal budget ?will be delivered on November 5, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told the House of Commons on Tuesday
Traders are ?pricing in an 80% chance of a Bank of ?Canada rate hike next week, and a percentage point hike over the next 12 months.
Canadian tech equities, with BlackBerry soaring 60 cents, or 4.8%, to $13.05, and Shopify rising $5.97, or 2.5%, to $249.98.
Japan's Mitsubishi Corp approved the construction of a copper mining project in Arizona, jointly with Hudbay Minerals. Hudbay shares captured 15 cents to $33.42.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backed off 0.23 points to 845.77
The 12 subgroups were evenly divided, led by information technology, up 1.2%, financials, ahead 1.1%, and utilities, better by 0.9%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by telecoms, down 1.2%, health-care, off 0.6%, and consumer discretionary, down 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite rose on Wednesday as the latest developments surrounding SpaceX and Tesla led investors to move back into technology.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 127.14 points to break for lunch at 52,623.02.
The S&P 500 index added 34.34 points to 7,746.91.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ accelerated 295.73 points, or 1.1%, to 26,720.55.
Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX surged 11% after the company said its revenue grew 161% in the third quarter. Musk also said that SpaceX and Tesla, his auto manufacturer, have formed special committees to discuss a merger. Tesla, which is due to report earnings later, was up more than 2%.
SpaceX’s artificial intelligence business grew ninefold, reigniting enthusiasm for stocks related to the trade. Key chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia each rose nearly 2%, while Broadcom gained around 1%.
Investors are seeking more insights into the AI trade on Wednesday, with Meta Platforms also set to report after the bell. Earlier this month, the company rolled out its latest AI model, Muse Wonder, which is only available to paying users.
Traders are also watching for results from IBM and Southwest Airlines, both of which are due Wednesday as well.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to back to Tuesday’s 5.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained seven cents to $97.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices accumulated $3.60 to $4,146.20 U.S. an ounce.
