Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains after US consumer price data came mostly in line with expectations, while commodity-linked stocks boosted the sentiment further.
At 9:42 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 119.59 points, or 0.56%, at 21,394.4, a day after its highest close since Dec. 30.
"I think we're set up for a bounce back in markets. CPI figures were perfectly in-line and Powell was more dovish yesterday than feared," said Gregory Taylor, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
"We had some volatility disturbances, but now it feels like we're ready to get through that and move close to new highs."
US consumer price readings came largely in line with expectations, easing concerns around a sooner-than-expected policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve.
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Investors were also relieved after US Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday told a congressional hearing the US economy was ready for tighter monetary policy, but it could take several months to make a decision on reducing the Fed's $9 trillion holdings.
The energy sector climbed 1.5%, leading gains on the index as oil prices hit two-month highs on tight supply and easing concerns about the potential hit to demand from the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, rose 1.3%, aided by higher copper prices.
Technology stocks, rose 1.0%, tracking gains in the US tech-heavy Nasdaq index, while the financials sector, which accounts for about 30% of the Toronto market's value gained 0.5%.
Highlights
The TSX posted 22 new 52-week highs and one new low.
Across Canadian issues, there were 77 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows, with total volume of 42.79 million shares.
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