Baystreet.ca - Equities in Toronto rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in energy shares as oil jumped after the killing of a Hamas leader increased tensions in the Middle East, while markets shifted focus to U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision later in the day.
The TSX Composite Index gained 115.11 points to open Tuesday at 22,939.78.
The Canadian dollar moved ahead 0.19 cents at 72.39 cents U.S.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported GDP grew for the fourth time in five months, increasing 0.2% in May, as both goods-producing and services-producing industries expanded in the month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 6.25 points, or 1.1%, to begin the mid-week session at 579.18.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with information technology and energy each soaring 1.9%, and gold jumping 1.7%.
The three laggards were real-estate, retreating 1.1%, health-care, off 0.2%, and consumer staples, down 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Wednesday as investors parsed the latest earnings reports and readied for the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 106.43 points to 40,849.76.
The S&P 500 index regained 82.54 points, or 1.5%, to 5,518.98.
The NASDAQ popped 392.48 points, or 2.3%, to 17,539.90.
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) climbed more than 8% as second-quarter results topped consensus forecasts. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) gained 8.8% on the back of AMD’s report — and after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) named the stock a top pick. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares, meanwhile, shed nearly 2% as its cloud business disappointed Wall Street.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) added roughly 2% after announcing a new chief executive officer. The aerospace company also reported a wider-than-expected loss and disappointing revenue for the second quarter. Humana (NYSE:HUM), meanwhile, slid more than 7.5% after posting weak guidance.
Carvana and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) are among the names set to report after the close.
The Fed is slated to wrap its two-day policy meeting Wednesday. The central bank is expected to keep rates steady at the meeting, but the focus will be on chair Jerome Powell and whether he offers any signs that cuts may be on the near horizon.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained slightly, with yields falling to 4.10% from Tuesday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $2.22 at $76.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shone brighter $18.60 to $2,470.50
S&P Jumps Ahead