Baystreet.ca - Canada's main stock index opened slightly higher on Wednesday, led by losses in energy stocks, while investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting.
The TSX Composite Index nosed up 9.72 points to kick off Wednesday at 24,082.23
The Canadian dollar shed 0.15 cents to 73.27 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Japan's Seven & I Holdings received a revised takeover bid of around $47 billion from Alimentation Couche-Tard, compared with $38.5 billion earlier. Shares in Couche-Tard fell 40 cents to $74.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained back 3.17 points to 590.78.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive in the first hour, with information technology soaring 0.7%, industrials poking up 0.4%. and consumer discretionary stocks better by 0.3%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, sinking 1.3%, materials, dropping 0.8%, and energy, down 0.3%. Shares in health-care were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were little changed Wednesday as traders looked to add to the gains seen in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 155,47 points to 42,235.84.
The S&P 500 index eked up 4.53 points to 5,755,66.
The NASDAQ Composite dumped 18.4 points to 18,164.51.
U.S.-listed China stocks struggled as investors took profits from the recent stimulus-fueled rally. Elsewhere, Boeing (NYSE:BA) lost 3% after union negotiations ended without a deal and the company pulled its contract offer.
On the economic front, investors are anticipating the latest meeting minutes from the Fed on Wednesday, due at 2 p.m. ET. The September consumer price index is to be released Thursday and producer price index reading is due out Friday.
Earnings season kicks off Friday with the big banks JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields 4.05% from Tuesday’s 4.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.54 to $72.03 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $8.20 to $2,627.20 U.S. an ounce