Stocks Hold Gains by Noon

Stocks in Canada’s largest centre gained on Wednesday as beaten-down technology stocks rose sharply, while the Bank of Canada held interest rates steady but flagged hikes later this year as it seeks to curb inflation.

The S&P/TSX Composite remained buoyant 253.33 points, or 1.2%, to pause for lunch Wednesday at 20,844.31.

The Canadian dollar remained ahead 0.15 cents at 79.40 cents U.S.

Tech stocks had most of the fun, with HUT 8 Mining gathereing 76 cents, or 11%, to $7.68, while Lightspeed POS gained $2.53, or 6.9%, to $39.26.

Energy issues did well, too, as Advantage Oil and Gas hiked 34 cents, or 5.1%, to $7.03, while Secure Energy Systems picked up 21 cents, or 3.6%, to $6.12.

Gold sagged, however, as Torex Gold Resources plunged 35 cents, or 2.7%, to $12.62, while Seabridge Gold gave back 49 cents, or 2.3%, to $20.92.

On the economic calendar, the Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of 0.25%, with the Bank Rate at 0.5% and the deposit rate at 0.25%. A number of analysts were expecting the central bank to raise rates a quarter-percentage point.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 16.72 points, or 2%, to 863.93.

All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups remained higher, with information technology advancing 2.5%, while energy shot higher 2.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks moved upward 2.1%.

Gold proved the only laggard, falling 0.7%.

ON WALLSTREET

U.S. stocks rebounded Wednesday after a strong quarterly report from Microsoft as investors await results from a Federal Reserve meeting expected to set the tone for 2022.

The Dow Jones Industrials popped 310.53 points to 34,608.25.

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The S&P 500 recovered 62.11 points, or 1.4%, to 4,418.56.

The NASDAQ roared ahead 284.98 points, or 2.1%, to 13,824.28.

All three major indexes are negative in January. The NASDAQ is in correction territory, down more than 14% from its intraday high.

Shares of Microsoft rose 4% after the company issued better-than-expected quarterly revenue guidance, boosting the three major indexes.

Technology shares gained following Microsoft’s earnings report. Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Nvidia all traded higher. Tesla shares added 3.3%, with the electric vehicle marker slated to report earnings after the bell.

Corning popped 13%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company’s quarterly earnings and revenue topped Wall Street estimates.

On the downside, Boeing fell 3.9% after the aircraft maker reported positive cash flow for the first time since 2019, but it took a $3.5-billion pre-tax charge on its 787 Dreamliner program.

The Fed is set to conclude its two-day policy meeting Wednesday and make an announcement in the afternoon. The central bank is not expected to make any policy changes, but investors will look for clues on when — and by how much — the Fed will raise interest rates later this year.

Market participants will also look for hints on further steps the Fed will take to unwind pandemic-era aid.

Prices for 10-year Treasurys were lower, raising yields to 1.79% from Tuesday’s 1.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices gained $2.06 to $87.66 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices tumbled $20.30 to $1,832.20 U.S. an ounce.