Markets in Canada’s largest market opened higher on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement of a what he says is a far-reaching plan to address the economic pain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The TSX acquired 15.95 points to begin Wednesday at 16,158.84.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.03 cents to 75.15 cents U.S.
Ford Motor Co will invest $1.95 billion in its Oakville and Windsor plants in Canada as part of a tentative deal with Canadian autoworkers, Unifor union National President Jerry Dias said on Tuesday.
Ford shares opened Wednesday in New York up two cents to $6.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 10.47 points, or 1.5%, to 704.28.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups began the day in the plus category, with consumer discretionary sector strengthening 1%, industrials better by 0.9%, and consumer staples climbing 0.7%.
The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, ailing 2.4%, gold, sagging 1.7%, and materials, down 1.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were lower on Wednesday as Wall Street’s September struggles continued, with tech shares sliding once again.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 60.73 points to 27,288.04, as Nike shares jumped 8.4%. The company said digital sales surged more than 80% last quarter. Earnings and sales blew past analysts expectations last quarter and the company gave a forecast for growth in the new fiscal year.
The S&P 500 sifted off 7.63 points to 3,307.94.
The NASDAQ dropped 64.98 points in the first hour to 10,898.66.
September continues to be a weak month for stocks with all three averages posting three straight weeks of losses. The Dow is down more than 4% in September and the S&P 500 shuttled lower 5.3% and NASDAQ has lost 6.9% this month
Shares of Amazon dropped more than 1% along with Netflix to lead most of Big Tech lower. Alphabet slid 1.1%; Microsoft and Apple were both down 0.9%. Shares of Tesla fell 6.3% after Elon Musk offered new delivery predictions for 2020 and detailed a new battery design that it claims will make its cars cheaper to produce.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson started a phase 3 trial of its coronavirus vaccine. J&J shares were up 1.5%. Sentiment was also aided after the House passed a bill avoiding a government shutdown.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were lower, driving yields up to 0.68% from Tuesday’s 0.67%, Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added six cents to $39.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $34.90 to $1,872.70 U.S. an ounce.
