Toronto Stocks Jump; BoC Raises Interest Rates to Tackle Inflation

By Adriano Marchese

Canadian stocks showed firm gains in mid-trading on Wednesday as most sectors were higher during the session. The materials and producer manufacturing sectors were the only decliners at midday, while transportation and tech were the leaders.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada announced it has raised interest rates by a quarter-percentage point to 0.50% as it looks to curb inflation.

On the equities front, George Weston Ltd. shares rose after the company reported sales and adjusted profit in the fourth quarter, beating analyst expectations.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1.07% to 21229.52 while the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was up 1.24% to 1284.34.

George Weston Ltd. shares rose 2.3% to C$139.29 after it reported adjusted earnings, which excluded the sale of the Weston Foods bakery business and other one-time events, were C$2.32 a share. Analysts had been expecting adjusted earnings of C$1.99. Revenue was about 4% lower at C$12.9 billion, while analysts had expected C$12.84 billion.

Other market movers:

Shares in Canfor Corp. fell 4.7% to C$27.49 after the company swung to a loss and had lower sales in the fourth quarter, missing analyst expectations.

Shares in Aecon Group Inc. fell by 8.4% to C$15.86 after the Canadian construction company missed analyst expectations for earnings and revenue in the fourth quarter.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-02-22 1222ET