By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com - The TSX rose at midday today, even as Wall Street indices remained mixed on worries of Fed fears as treasury yields hit four month highs, and as US manufacturing activity contracted in February.
The commodity heavy Canadian index was boosted largely by energy stocks on hopes for higher demand in China following a jump in manufacturing activity in the world’s biggest importer of crude.
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Royal Bank of Canada(TSX:RY) reported a first-quarter profit of $3.21 billion for the quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $4.10 billion this time last year. Profit amounted to $2.29 per diluted share, down from $2.84 per diluted share a year ago. On an adjusted basis, RBC (TSX:RY) earned $3.10 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $2.87 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue totalled $15.09 billion, up from $13.07 billion a year earlier. The bank's provision for credit losses amounted to $532 million compared with a provision of $105 million in the same quarter last year.
National Bank of Canada(TSX:NA) reported a first-quarter profit of $881 million for the quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $930 million in the first quarter of 2022. Profit amounted to $2.49 per diluted share, down from a profit of $2.64 per diluted share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, National Bank earned $2.56 per diluted share, down from an adjusted profit of $2.64 per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Revenue totalled $2.58 billion, up from $2.47 billion in the same quarter last year. Provisions for credit losses in the bank's first quarter amounted to $86 million compared with a recovery of $2 million this time last year.
TD’s planned US$13.4 billion acquisition of First Horizon Corp. is set to be delayed by more than was previously announced last month. It is anticipated that TD (TSX:TD) will not receive the necessary regulatory approvals by May 27 as it had previously announced. TD is unable to currently provide a new anticipated closing date.
Enbridge (TSX:ENB) announced it will invest up to US$1 billion to build plants that turn discarded food into renewable natural gas. The initiative is part of Enbridge’s commitment to reduce emissions in line with Canada’s emission cut targets. Enbridge will also invest $80 million in Divert Inc., the company that created the waste-to-gas technology that will be used in the plants. The partnership with Divert is expected to offset 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
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In Canadian Economics
The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to nine months high while inflation pressures continued to ease. The index rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.4 in February from 51.0 in January, its highest level since July and the first. Before January's reading, the index had been below 50, significant a contraction in manufacturing, for five consecutive months. The measure of input prices fell to its lowest level since July 2020 at 57.9, down from 58.6 in January, while the future output measure was at 61.6, its highest since July.