Canada’s main stock index rose to its highest in 12 days on Wednesday as mining and energy stocks led a broad rise with higher commodity prices.
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The Canadian dollar was also higher, rising 0.11 of a USA cent to 75.82 cents United States in foreign exchange trading.
December futures on the S&P TSX index SXFc1 were up 0.43 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET.
The interest-rate-sensitive telecommunications sector rose 0.5 percent, while both the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors gained more than 0.8 percent and technology stocks advanced 1.3 percent.
Eight of the index’s 10 main groups were in positive territory, with three advancers for every decliner.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.63 points, or 0.02% to 18,120.17.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.6 percent, with gold-focused royalty and stream company Franco Nevada Corp rising 1.2 percent to C$93.86.
Barrick Gold’s Veladero gold mine in Argentine, closed by the government last week after a solution containing cyanide leaked, could resume operations in the next two weeks, the company’s president said on Monday. “The single-family market continues to make gradual gains and we expect this upward momentum will build throughout the remainder of the year and into 2017”.
Canadian wholesale sales rose 0.3 percent in July, Stats Canada announced.
Investors are shying away from any major moves to the upside or the downside until Fed chair Janet Yellen speaks following the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday.
Most economists don’t expect the central bank to move on interest rates at the meeting due to a series of weak economic indicators that were recently released, including a lower-than-expected August jobs report.
“Most people feel the most unloved bull market in recent memory will be cut off at the knees by higher interest rates and the Fed is certainly threatening that in the near term”, he says. The Nasdaq composite lost 9.54 points at 5,235.03.
The Bank of Japan is expected to unveil further measures to boost the ailing Japanese economy.
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Agrium Inc advanced 0.8 percent to C$119.81.
