(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Canadian shares rose Wednesday led by gains in and Hudson’s Bay. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.4 percent to 15219.49 at 12:31 p.m. in Toronto. Five shares advanced for every three stocks that declined as seven out of ten major industries were up.
The consumer discretionary group the fifth heaviest on the index gained 2 percent. Hudson's Bay () rose 20 percent to C$26.80 as Canada’s oldest company agreed to form two real estate joint ventures that will bring in about C$1.1 billion in cash reducing its debt and paving the way for an initial public offering or alternate transaction.
() North America’s largest auto-parts supplier advanced 7.1 percent to C$136.78 after reporting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit Wednesday and raising its dividend as it benefited from higher vehicle production in North America and Europe but it warned that the stronger U.S. dollar will hurt results this year.
Canada () fell 1 percent to C$12.47 as the struggling department store swung to a net loss of C$1.21 a share in the fiscal fourth quarter compared with earnings of C$3.67 a year earlier.
The financials group which accounts for approximately 34 percent of the main measure more than any other group jumped 1 percent.
() rose 3.2 percent to $77.43 as the country’s second-largest lender by assets hiked its dividend by 2.7 percent while reporting a stronger 17 percent jump in quarterly profit on domestic lending and investment banking.
() gained 2.1 percent to C$47.88 after posting a fiscal first-quarter adjusted profit of C$1.14 a share up from C$1.09 a year earlier and ahead of the mean estimate of C$1.12.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD) the second-largest bank by market value rose 0.9 percent to C$53.74.
The materials sub-index which includes mining shares inched up 0.5 percent as gold climbed. (TSE:G) Canada’s largest gold miner by market value gained 1.1 percent to C$26.97. (TSE:ABX) the second-largest gained 0.5 percent to C$15.78.
Spot gold was at $1205.05 at 9:46 a.m. up 0.5 percent after hitting a peak of $1211.80 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up $7.80 an ounce at $1205.10.
The energy sector the main index's second most heavily weighted group edged up 0.2 percent as crude oil futures rose.
Energy (TSE:SU) Canada's largest oil sands producer slipped 0.9 percent to C$37.98. Limited () Canada’s largest independent energy company fell 0.8 percent to C$37.26.
Encana () rose 3.5 percent to C$16.85 reversing an early slump as the nation’s largest natural gas producer trimmed its 2015 capital budget and cash flow guidance due to a slump in global crude oil prices. The company also reported quarterly earnings that fell well short of analyst expectations.
Brent April crude was up $1.34 at $60.00 a barrel at noon. U.S. April crude CLc1 was up $0.77 at $50.05. Crude advanced after Saudi Arabia's oil minister said oil demand was growing and data showed Chinese factories were producing more than expected.
The junior () gained 0.7 percent to 696.88 at 12:37 p.m. in Toronto.
In the U.S. market shares wavered between gains and losses as better-than-forecast housing data outstripped a slump in companies from Hewlett Packard to . The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) was little changed at 2114 at 11:44 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) was up less than 0.1 percent at 18215 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 0.1 percent to 4972. Most followed shares also included Target Lowe’s Boston Beer Hewlett-Packard DreamWorks Animation First Solar Simon Property and .
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