The Toronto stock market moved slightly higher early Wednesday, supported by commodity stocks a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it will keep interest rates unchanged “for an extended period.” The S&P/TSX composite index gained 14.7 points to 12,104.1. The TSX rose 81 points Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept a key lending rate at a historically low level of zero to 0.25 per cent, saying the economy is showing signs of improvement. It noted that the labour market was “stabilizing” and that business spending was rising “significantly.” The Canadian dollar marched closer to parity with the U.S. dollar, which it has not reached since May 2008, up 0.31 of a cent to 98.93 cents US. The base metals sector was the leading TSX component, up 0.49 per cent as May copper rose three cents to US$3.41 a pound. HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) rose 12 cents to C$13.72. Oil prices gained headway after a report showed U.S. crude inventories grew less than expected last week. The April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 77 cents to US$82.47 a barrel after the American Petroleum Institute reported that crude inventories rose by 400,000 barrels last week, far less than the increase of 1.9 million barrels that had been expected. The energy sector rose 0.16 per cent. Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) gained 14 cents to $31.50 but Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) fell 63 cents to $32.96. The U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday. Meanwhile, leaders of the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have signalled they don’t expect the group to change production quotas during its meeting Wednesday in Vienna. The TSX global gold index was also positive as the April gold contract on the Nymex was ahead $1.50 to US$1,124 an ounce. There was also relief over news that the Standard & Poor’s credit ratings agency gave its cautious backing to the Greek government’s attempts to get a grip on its borrowing by taking the country off so-called credit watch. That means the agency is not thinking about downgrading the country’s BBB-plus credit rating at the moment, to the relief of the Greek government as it tries to plug its deficit by tapping the international bond markets for cash. The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 1.6 points to 1,580.13. New York markets made modest advances as the Dow Jones industrial average gained 27.4 points to 10,713.4 on top of a 44-point runup. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 6.6 points to 2,384.61 while the S&P 500 index was 3.95 points higher to 1,163.4. A report on inflation at the wholesale level from the U.S. Labour Department provided further assurance that the Federal Reserve shouldn’t have to raise its key lending rate any time soon. It said that prices at the wholesale level plunged in February by 0.6 per cent, the largest amount in seven months as a big drop in energy prices offset higher food costs. That was much larger than the 0.2 per cent decline economists had expected. And Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales rose three per cent in January to $44.4 billion, their strongest increase in three years. The agency said that all sectors were up, but four accounted for 80 per cent of the growth: automotive products; building materials; machinery and electronic equipment, and “other products.” In earnings news, Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (TSX:IE) reported an $11.9-million net loss for the latest quarter, an improvement from the $14 million loss from a year ago. Oil revenue declined to $5.3 million from $10.8 million, representing a lower benchmark crude oil price and its shares declined three cents to $3.72. Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. (TSX:PBG) shares were up $1.01 to $56.10 as it said Tuesday that despite stellar fourth quarter earnings, profits for 2009 dropped 40 per cent from year-earlier levels mainly due to lower oil and natural gas prices. Net earnings for the year dropped to $145 million. Fourth quarter net earnings doubled to $57.1 million compared to year-earlier profits of $28.1 million. Biopharmaceutical company Cangene Corp. (TSX:CNJ) says its profit shrunk to $3.8 million in its most recent quarter, down from $5.6 million a year ago. Revenue increased by 20 per cent due to $41.5 million and its shares dipped nine cents to $5. German auto group BMW AG says the economic crisis has probably reached its lowest point and that its car market could see growth in a single-digit percentage range in 2010. The company, which also builds the Mini and Rolls Royce brand cars, said setbacks in the world economy could continue to arise and that it was still difficult to make a more precise or reliable forecast. Japan led overseas markets higher after its central bank kept a key interest rate at 0.1 per cent and expanded money available through its short-term lending program. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 1.2 per cent and Hong Kong’s market jumped 1.7 per cent. London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.47 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX was up 0.86 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.48 per cent.

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