4:15 p.m. ET: North American equity markets extend gains into Wednesday’s close

North American equity markets closed out the Wednesday trading session in positive territory, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index up 1.17 per cent, the S&P 500 rising 1.36 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 2.05 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 0.78 per cent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now within striking distance of its all-time high after a four-session rally.

The rally in riskier assets like stocks came at the expense of traditional safe havens, sending the U.S. dollar, U.S. Treasuries and gold lower.

In Toronto, nine of the 11 TSX subgroups were in positive territory and were led by financials, industrials and real estate stocks. The exchange's resource-heavy materials and information technology subindices were the sole decliners.

Canada Goose extended earlier gains, with shares rising 17.51 per cent for the day. Corus Entertainment also surged double-digits, up 14.63 per cent.

Crude oil fluctuated throughout ​the day, falling half a per cent shortly after 4 p.m. to US$36.63 per barrel. Alberta’s Western Canadian Select was down 0.92 per cent to US$28.23 per barrel.

The Canadian dollar was modestly higher against its U.S. counterpart, up a tenth of a per cent to 74.10 cents U.S. as the Bank of Canada maintained its overnight interest rate at 0.25 per cent, as expected. 

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1:10 p.m. ET: North American equity markets extend rally through midday

North American equity markets continued to rally through the midday trade, as investors looked to prospects for economic reopenings as a catalyst to move into risk-assets like stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1.13 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 1.07 per cent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.54 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index notched a 0.54 per cent gain. The Nasdaq’s push higher now has the tech-heavy index within 1.6 per cent of its all-time high.

The optimism surrounding those reopenings has been enough to offset concerns over the civil unrest in the United States and a flare-up in U.S.-China tensions.

That move higher in risk assets weighed on traditional safe-haven plays, sending a gauge of the U.S. dollar to its lowest level since early March. U.S. treasuries and gold were also under pressure, with the precious metal falling 1.8 per cent to US$1702 per ounce.

In Toronto, nine of the 11 TSX subgroups were in positive territory, led by financials, real estate and industrial stocks. Only materials and information technology were lower.

On a stock-specific basis, shares of Corus Entertainment Inc. were the top performer on the index, surging more than 15 per cent after National Bank Financial upgraded the company to an outperform rating. 

Canada Goose Holdings Inc. wasn’t far behind, with shares up 14 per cent after the company topped analyst profit and revenue expectations in its most recent quarter, though the high-end parka maker did say it expects minimal revenue in its fiscal first quarter as the impact of COVID-19 takes hold. The company’s first quarter historically accounts for the smallest share of its revenue, as it falls in the warmer spring months.

The weakness in gold prices weighed on the likes of Centerra Gold Ltd., Agnico Eagles Mines Ltd. and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., which all fell more than six per cent.

Crude oil prices fluctuated throughout the trading day as investors mulled the impact of economic reopenings against concerns over the viability of an extension to the OPEC+ production cut agreement. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell a third of a per cent to US$36.70 per barrel, while Alberta’s Western Canadian Select declined by half a per cent to US$29.00 per barrel.

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9:25 a.m. ET: North American markets extend rally amid reopening optimism

North American equity markets extended their rally into early trading Wednesday, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average both up about 0.9 per cent, the S&P 500 gaining three-quarters of a per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index rising 0.4 per cent.

The rally comes as optimism over the gradual reopening of global economies overshadows concerns about civil unrest in the United States and U.S-China tensions.

Oil prices flatlined after some early gains in the wake of a report from Bloomberg News that the OPEC+ meeting to discuss an extension to record-shattering production cuts could be in jeopardy over concerns some members of the group have been cheating when it comes to meeting their obligations. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at US$36.85 per barrel, while Alberta’s Western Canadian Select was at US$28.93.

The Canadian dollar slipped against its U.S. counterpart to trade at 73.84 cents U.S.