VN: TSX gains as U.S. corporate reports encourage investors
The Toronto Stock Exchange rose as Wednesday's trading started, with some positive signals coming from the U.S. corporate sector and strong economic data from overseas.
Shortly after the open, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 62.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 12,638.14.
U.S. markets also got early jump. The Dow Jones industrial average was ahead 37.09 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 11,057.49. The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.22 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 2,430.14.
On commodities markets, crude oil was up 86 cents to $82.53 U.S. a barrel in New York. Gold was up $11.20 to $ 1,357.90 U.S. an ounce.
The Canadian dollar was getting closer to equality with its U.S. counterpart, sitting at 99.6 cents U.S., up from 98.95 cents U.S. at Tuesday's close.
There has been some good news coming from third-quarter earnings reports in the U.S. On Wednesday, banking giant JPMorgan Chase and Co. reported better-than-expected profits. A day earlier after the markets closed, Intel Corp. provided a sales forecast for the current quarter that topped analysts' estimates.
News that helped markets recover for a positive finish Tuesday was minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, which showed a willingness to pump more cash into the economy if necessary.
"It appears that trades driven by anticipation of increased monetary liquidity through the implementation of new quantitative easing (QE) measures have moved back to the forefront," said Colin Cieszynski, analyst with CMC Markets Canada.
European markets got their first chance to react to the Fed minutes on Wednesday. The United Kingdom's FTSE index was up 81.61 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 5,743.20. The CAC in France gained 67.24 points, or 1.79 per cent, to 3,816.10. The German DAX index rose 118.16 points, or 1.87 per cent, to 6,422.73.
Asian stocks were up Wednesday after data showed higher-than-expected machinery orders in Japan, and Chinese exports last month were up 25.1 per cent and imports greater by 24.1 per cent. The Nikkei index in Japan was up 14.87 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 9,403.51. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 335.99 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 23,457.69. China's Shanghai index was up 19.95 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 2,861.36.
On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX composite index rose 40.05 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 12,575.64. The Dow Jones was up 10.06 points, or 0.09 per cent, 11,020.40, and the Nasdaq gained 15.59 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 2,417.92.
