BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
North American stock markets climbed after minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting suggested the central bank won't be any more hawkish in aggressively raising interest rates in the months to come.
Greg Taylor, chief investment officer of Purpose Investments, said investors were relieved that Fed members indicated some three weeks ago that it doesn't want to be overly hawkish and risk crashing the market and economy.
“So it seems like a bit of a sigh of relief, and that's brought some money and short covering off the sidelines,” he said in an interview.
Taylor said there was concern that the central bank would overcompensate for not hiking interest rates sooner.
“The fear would be that they'd be super aggressive and go to 75 beeps or higher than that and really try and step on the brakes,” he said referring to efforts to cut inflation.
But everyone is getting comfortable with the idea of 50 basis point hikes at each of the upcoming two meetings and then reassess the situation, he said.
“That's something already priced in the market and that's probably a good sign.”
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 97.55 points at 20,383.75.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 191.66 points at 32,120.28. The S&P 500 index was up 37.25 points at 3,978.73, while the Nasdaq composite was up 170.29 points or 1.5 per cent at 11,434.74.
U.S. markets seem to have calmed down in the last few days from some really ugly market moves and big volatility after being down seven straight weeks.
Taylor said the hope is that tend will hold until the end of the week and the start of a long weekend in the U.S.
“Volumes are pretty light but it feels like they're trying to salvage the month and having a bit of bounce into the end of the month.”
He said there were “a few green shoots” with some of the most oversold parts of the market starting to act a little better. Technology, which has fallen for most of the year, bounced back midweek.
In addition, bond yields, which have been a leading indicator of problems ahead, pulled back a little.
In Canada, the tech sector was up 1.1 per cent with Lightspeed Commerce Inc. increasing 4.4 per cent, BlackBerry Ltd. up 3.1 per cent and Shopify Inc. 2.5 per cent higher.
Health care led, climbing 2.8 per cent as cannabis companies bounced back from Tuesday's steep losses with Canopy Growth Corp. up 6.3 per cent.
Energy was the second-best performer on the TSX, increasing two per cent as crude oil prices rose and natural gas climbed to an eight-year high.
The July crude contract was up 56 cents at US$110.33 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 15.7 cents at US$8.99 per mmBTU.
Vermilion Energy Inc. increased 8.9 per cent while Enerplus Corp. was 6.3 per cent higher.
“Oil is hanging in around $110 and I think that's a big win for all these companies ... so the Canadian energy producers are up pretty big, and I think that's more just people realizing that these prices aren't going to fade away any time soon.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 77.90 cents US compared with 77.97 cents US on Tuesday.
The heavyweight financials sector had a good day after Scotiabank and the Bank of Montreal started the second-quarter off by posting strong results and raising their dividends.
Scotiabank shares increased 2.9 per cent, while BMO was down slightly.
Taylor said there was some concern after U.S. banks reported and indicated some problems controlling expenses. But those worries faded with the first two Canadian banks reporting results saying they expect to keep expense growth in the low single digits.
Industrials, materials, utilities and real estate were the day's laggards. Materials lost about a half per cent on lower metals prices.
The June gold contract was down US$19.10 at US$1,846.30 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 5.1 cents at US$4.25 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2022
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.