TSX Opens Higher

Canada's main stock index opened higher on Wednesday, boosted by materials shares tracking metal prices, as investors digested the Bank of Canada's interest rate policy decision.

The TSX Composite advanced 67.76 points, to start Wednesday at 21,102.35.

The Canadian dollar sank 0.04 cents at 74.27 cents U.S.

Among individual stocks, Canadian National Railway reported a higher fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday after the bell. CN shares were in reverse $4.48, or 2.6%, to $164,96.

U.S.-listed shares of tech firm Blackberry tumbled 63 cents, or 13.1%, in early trading, to $4.17, after it announced a private offering of $160 million in five-year convertible bonds.

The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 5%, with the Bank Rate at 5¼% and the deposit rate at 5%. The central bank also said it is continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed ahead 3.66 points to begin the mid-week session at 555.02.

Eight of the 12 subgroups gained ground, led by information technology, up 0.8%, energy, ahead 0.7%, and utilities, better by 0.4%.

The four laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 0.4%, gold, sinking 0.3%, consumer discretionary stocks, off 0.2%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks rose Wednesday after Netflix reported its subscriber count reached a new record in the fourth quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrials rallied 44.96 points to 37,950.41.

The S&P 500 index gained 25.57 points to 4,890.17.

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The NASDAQ triumphed 142.98 points to 15,568.93.

Netflix shares surged more than 11%. The leg up came after the streamer said it added more than 13 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, bringing its total subscriber count to an all-time high of 260.8 million. Revenue topped analysts’ estimates, as did current-quarter earnings guidance.

The streaming giant’s gains build upon mega-cap tech’s strong gains in 2024, which have propelled the S&P 500 to record highs and confirmed a new bull market.

Beyond Netflix, AT&T slipped almost 2% on lower-than-expected earnings. Dupont De Nemours tumbled almost 12% after preannouncing weak fourth-quarter results and issuing disappointing first-quarter guidance.

Those moves come after the Dow pulled back during Tuesday’s main trading session as investors tracked disappointing earnings reports and guidance from several blue-chip companies. Still, the S&P 500 gained and Nasdaq Composite climbed, pushing the former to a fresh all-time closing record.

Earnings reports will remain a focus of traders on Tuesday, with Tesla, Las Vegas Sands and IBM due after the bell. Of the more than 16% of S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly financials thus far in the earnings season, over 71% have surpassed Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet.

On the economic front, traders will be looking toward data on fourth quarter gross domestic product and the closely watched personal consumption expenditures price index expected later in the week.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved cautiously forward, dropping yields to 4.13% from Tuesday’s 4.14%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices regained 23 cents to $74.60 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices dropped $1.80 to $2,024.00.