Wednesday the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.6%.
West Texas Oil came very close to U.S. $50.00 and is currently at $49.74.
Canadian Western Bank recovered some of yesterday’s loss as it gained 3.7%.
CN Rail rose 1.5% to $88.32. Canadian rail traffic was up sharply in the latest weekly report and has been above the 2015 figure in each of the last three weekly reports. In June and July traffic had been well below the 2015 level and so I was rather expecting a weaker Q3 earnings report. But the recovery in September is impressive. It also bodes well for the Canadian economy. The metallic ores and metals freight segment has seen a dramatic increase in the past few weeks, if the numbers are to be believed. You can see the numbers here, but you have to use the button to choose Canada and the various freight segments.
AutoCanada was up 6.3% to $23.55 after announcing that it had purchased a large Chrysler dealership in Guelph Ontario. The dealership sold 968 new and 402 used vehicles in 2015. This transaction provides some comfort that the companies growth-by-acquisition strategy remains in place and provides further diversification outside of Alberta.
Wells Fargo was up 2.8%.
Costco reported September same-stores sales results after the close. The increase was only 1% and there was almost no net impact from currency or gasoline prices. This will likely be taken as somewhat negative.