Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks and the financial sector got a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s strong quarterly earnings.
At 9:34 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 44.58 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 16,341.55.
Seven of the index’s 11 major sectors were higher
Leading the gainers on TSX was the energy sector, which climbed 1.3 per cent, as oil touched two-week high. Suncor Energy’s 1.7 per cent rise was the biggest help to the energy sector.
Oil prices rose as an industry report showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories and U.S. sanctions on Iran pointed to tighter supplies. U.S. crude prices were up 2.1 percent a barrel, while Brent crude added 2.1 percent.
The most heavily weighted financials sector gained 0.2 per cent.
The biggest boost was Royal Bank of Canada, which rose 0.19 per cent after the country’s biggest lender reported quarterly earnings that topped market expectations.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is due to report on Thursday followed by Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and Bank of Montreal next week. All these bank stocks were up between 0.1 per cent to 0.4 per cent.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 marked its longest bull-market run with a dip on Wednesday as President Donald Trump’s political position was threatened by the legal woes of two former advisers and ahead of trade talks and the Federal Reserve’s minutes.
The index’s bull-market run turned 3,453 days old, making it the longest such streak by commonly-used definitions, and comes a day after it hit a record intraday high.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors fell, with the trade-sensitive industrial sector down 0.71 per cent ahead of Sino-U.S. trade talks. Energy stocks got a lift from higher oil prices and retailers gained on Target and Lowe’s results.
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was found guilty of tax and bank fraud charges on Tuesday evening, while Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to a range of charges and said he acted at the direction of Trump.
Investors are considering whether the twin setback will hurt the Republican Party’s election prospects and widen a criminal probe that has overshadowed Trump’s presidency.
“There are some question marks on what the implications of yesterday’s news are on markets to the extent where they are slightly lower, but that’s not much of a move,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in New York.
“The biggest driver in the market right now is around policy, and investors are certainly curious about what the minutes of the Fed will look like.”
The minutes of the Fed’s August policy meeting – due at 2:00 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) – are expected to reaffirm the central bank’s confidence in the economy and its commitment to future rate hikes, which Trump has been critical about.
At 9:58 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21.99 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 25,800.30, the S&P 500 was down 4.30 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 2,858.66 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 6.61 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 7,852.57.
The energy sector rose 1.06 per cent as oil prices jumped more than 2 per cent.
The consumer discretionary index climbed 0.33 per cent after strong results from retailers.
Target rose 5.5 per cent after beating quarterly estimates and raising its full-year profit forecast.
Home improvement chain Lowe’s surged 7.9 per cent, reversing losses from before the bell, as investors took positively new Chief Executive Marvin Ellison’s moves to reduce slow-moving product lines and shed unsuccessful businesses. Rival Home Depot rose 1 per cent.
Urban Outfitters jumped 7.3 per cent and furniture maker La-Z-Boy surged 12.4 per cent after their results topped Wall Street estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, but advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.13-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 51 new highs and 13 new lows.
Reuters