Canada’s main stock index opened muted on Wednesday, as declines in financials and real estate shares were offset by optimistic investor sentiment following upbeat corporate earnings in the United States and in Canada.
The TSX Composite slid 0.09 points to open Wednesday at 22,011.63.
The Canadian dollar surrendered 0.23 cents at 72.97 cents U.S.
In corporate news, miner OceanaGold Corp said on Wednesday it will raise 6.08 billion pesos ($106 million) through an initial public offering (IPO) of its Philippine unit. OceanaGold gained three cents, or nearly 1%, to begin the day at $3.08.
First Quantum Minerals said on Tuesday that it has cut its debt by $1.14 billion in the first quarter. First Quantum shares tacked on 34 cents, or 2.2%, to $15.86.
The economic board consists Wednesday of retail trade for February, which decreased 0.1% to $66.7 billion, and the new housing price index was flat on a monthly basis during March, compared to a gain of 0.1% the month before. The index sank 0.4% last month on an annual basis, identical to March last year.
All data in Canada is on the radar after Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem’s hinted in early April that the central bank would be open to a June cut if a cooling trend in inflation was sustained.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked ahead 0.89 points to 576.68.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive in the first hour, with information technology improving 1%, while consumer staples progressed 0.9%, and consumer discretionary stocks were ahead 0.7%.
The five laggards were weighed most by industrials, moving backwards 1.2%, health-care, down 0.6%, and communications, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite popped Wednesday, as a post-earnings surge in Tesla helped lift the technology-heavy index higher for a third-straight session.
The Dow Jones Industrials erased 25.82 points to begin Wednesday’s session at 38,477.87.
The S&P 500 index struggled higher 6.58 points to 5,077.13.
The tech-heavy index gained 78.8 points to 15,775.44.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are coming off a second straight winning session, as Wall Street tries to regain its footing following a recent string of losses.
Tesla climbed more than 13% after the company announced a renewed push into “more affordable” electric vehicle models. However, the megacap tech name and retail investor favorite missed expectations on both lines in the latest quarter.
Elsewhere, Visa and Texas Instruments jumped more than 2% and 7%, respectively, on the back of stronger-than-expected reports. Boeing ticked 3% higher after a narrower-than-expected first quarter earnings loss.
More than 25% of S&P 500 have reported earnings thus far. Of those companies, 79% have beaten earnings estimates,
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 4.66% from Tuesday’s 4.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices deleted 44 cents to $82.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $9.10 to $2,333.00 U.S. an ounce.
