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Positive start to market(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BCE in vogue Positive vibes came off Bay Street, as equities enjoyed a higher start on Wednesday The S&P/TSX composite index hiked 30.71 points to kick off Wednesday at 15,345.84 The Canadian dollar was up 0.07 at 93.19 cents U.S. BCE Inc, Canada's largest telecommunications company, said it would take Bell Aliant private by buying the stake it does not already own in the company. BCE shares gathered 41 cents to $49.42. Enbridge Inc may build a 140,000-barrel-per-day unit train unloading terminal in Pontiac, Illinois, to relieve congestion on its crude oil export network. Enbridge shares gained four cents to $53.36. Spanish oil company Repsol SA is considering a bid for Talisman Energy Inc, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Talisman Energy shares shot higher by 77 cents, or 7.3%, to $11.34. Raymond James cut the rating on Norbord to market perform from outperform. Norbord shares retreated 17 cents to $23.83. On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales in May increased 0.7% to $42.0 billion in May, with gains reported in seven of 11 subsectors, representing 56% of retail trade ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange eked back 0.40 points to 1,010.48. All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with telecoms up 1.9%, metals and mining up 1%, and gold, up 0.7%. The three laggards were information technology, down 0.2%, while consumer discretionaries and financials were each off 0.1%. ON WALLSTREET Geopolitical jitters have eased slightly, allowing investors to focus on earnings. The Dow Jones Industrials faded 28.23 points to 17,058.31 The S&P 500 gained 91.92 points to 1,985.45, having cruised to a new all-time intraday high of 1,987.58 right out of the gate on Wednesday. If the broad index closes above 1,985.59, that will mark its 26th record close this year alone. The NASDAQ composite hiked 13.31 points to 4,469.33 Shares of Apple jumped 1% a day after the iPhone maker reported a jump in sales and profit for the last quarter. Investors largely overlooked a more cautious tone for the current quarter. PepsiCo popped almost 3% after the food-and-beverage behemoth beat the Street and boosted its outlook for the year. Dow Chemical impressed investors by posting across-the-board sales growth and a slight earnings beat. Shares of the chemical giant rallied about 1%. Microsoft rose over 1% even after the tech giant's earnings trailed expectations due to trouble at Nokia. Still, Microsoft managed to beat Wall Street's revenue expectations. The latest numbers from Delta Air Lines should allow this stock to continue its high-flying ways. The carrier's shares rose about 1% on earnings growth that topped forecasts. Boeing shares fell 2% as Wall Street focuses on the jet maker's disappointing revenue increase. Boeing did report earnings that beat expectations and upgrade its outlook for the year. Intuitive Surgical raced 12% higher a day after the robotic surgery company posted slumping profits and revenue that managed to exceed estimates. Biogen Idec provided a boost to the much-maligned biotech sector. The drug maker surged 12% after logging earnings and revenue that trounced expectations. Major indexes across Europe floated higher after EU officials stopped short of imposing tough economic sanctions on Moscow. Still, the relief could be short-lived as Europe demanded Russia's "full and immediate" cooperation over Ukraine or risk losing access to European finance, defense equipment and energy technology. Also, Ukraine said a pair of its fighter jets were shot down in rebel held territory on Wednesday, underscoring the continued tensions. Germany's DAX gained 0.4%, while Russia's Micex index slipped 0.3%, taking its losses for the year to nearly 7%. Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.45% from Tuesday's 2.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices added 28 cents to $102.67 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices added two dollars to $1,308.30 U.S. an ounce. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |