Equities in Canada followed their American cousins skyward, as investors south of the line took heart from a milder inflation report than expected.
The TSX vaulted 200.72 points to close Wednesday to 24,789.30.
The Canadian dollar edged up 0.12 cents at 69.79 cents U.S.
Among individual stocks, BlackBerry led gains in Toronto with a rise of 19 cents, or 3.2%, to $5.94.
Tech stocks shone, as Bitfarms took on 11 cents, or 4.9%, to $2.38, while Celestica shares climbed $5.86, or 4%, to $2.38.
In real-estate, Colliers International Group barreled ahead $10.03, or 5.5%, to $193.35, while units of First Capital REIT increased 31 cents, or 1.9%, in price to $16.82.
In financials, Manulife grew $1.18, or 2.8%, to $43.98, while IGM Financial added $1.11, or 2.6%, to $44.71.
Communications let the side down a little, as Cogeco Communications sank $1.57, or 2.5%, to $61.86, while Quebecor lost 61 cents, or 1.9%, to $30.85.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Dollarama dipped $1.80, or 1.3%, to $134.30, while Restaurant Brands slid 77 cents to $86.61.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales increased 0.8% in November, mainly on higher production of aerospace products and parts as well as sales of petroleum and coal products. Sales of motor vehicle parts declined the most.
Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 0.2% to $83.7 billion in November.
Motor vehicle sales declined in November to 160,900 from 164,800 in October.
The Canadian Real Estate Association reported national home sales fell 5.8% month-over-month in December. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 19.2% above December 2023.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.29 points to 607.82.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground Wednesday. led by technology, improving 2.1%, real-estate, better by 1.6%, and financials, up 1.3%.
The two laggards proved to be communications, skidding 0.3%, and consumer discretionary stocks, down 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks surged on Wednesday after the latest consumer price index report showed core inflation unexpectedly slowed in December, and major U.S. banks kicked off quarterly earnings reporting season with blowout results.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 703.22 points, or 1.7%, to 43,221.55
The S&P 500 Index jumped 106.99 points, or 1.8%, to 5,949.90.
The NASDAQ barreled ahead 466.84 points, or 2.5%, to 19,511.23.
Fourth-quarter earnings reporting got off to a positive start Wednesday, with big banks managing to broadly top the Street’s expectations.
JPMorgan Chase shares rose nearly 2% after the bank reported an EPS and revenue beat, which was driven by strong fixed income trading and investment banking results.
Shares of Goldman Sachs popped 6% after the bank posted a top- and bottom-line beat in the previous quarter, and Wells Fargo shares jumped more than 7% after the bank said net interest income would be 1% to 3% higher in 2025. Citigroup also gained 7% after beating fourth-quarter estimates.
December’s consumer price index showed that core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. This was a notch down from the previous month and lower than the 3.3% estimated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Meanwhile, the 0.4% month-over-month uptick in headline inflation came in slightly above the 0.3% forecast by economists. On a 12-month basis, headline inflation increased 2.9%, which came in line with forecasts.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were higher, lowering yields to 4.65% from Tuesday’s 4.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices pushed higher $3.03 to $80.53 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold flew $37.60 an ounce to $2,719.90 U.S.
