TSX Ends Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended modestly higher on Wednesday, with investors indulging in some brisk buying towards the end of the session, amid hopes the meeting between the U.S. President Donald Trump and European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will yield a positive outcome with regards to trade.

Crude oil's rise and the yellow metal's positive close too aided sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX index ended up 30.63 points or 0.19% at 16,420.76, nearly 70 points off the day's low of 16,350.96. On Tuesday, the index closed down by 30.71 points or 0.19 percent, at 16,390.13.

The capped industrials index moved up nearly 2.2%. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) gained 4.2%, after the company reported a net income of C$1,310 million in the second quarter, up 27% compared to year-ago quarter.

Waste Connections Inc. (WCN.TO) gained 2.7% after reporting an 18.2% jump in second quarter net profit. The company also revised upward its full-year guidance.

Toromont Industries Ltd. (TIH.CO) soared 14.65% after the company reported a 67% jump in net earnings in the second quarter. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO), Air Canada (AC.TO) and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) moved up by 1.3 to 1.6%.

Among heavyweight bank stocks, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) declined by 1.1%, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gained 1%.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Encana Corporation (ECA.TO), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Crew Energy (CR.TO) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) gained 1 to 1.75%.

In the materials space, Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) and Methanex Corporation (MX2) ended notably lower. New Gold Inc. (NGD.TO) gained about 3% and Alamos Gold (AGI.TO) climbed up 4.8%

Aimia Inc. (AIM.TO) soared nearly 36% after the company confirmed that it has received a conditional proposal from a consortium consisting of Air Canada, The Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and VISA Canada Corporation to acquire the Aeroplan loyalty program business.

Loblaw Companies Limited (L.TO) reported revenue of $10,923 million for the quarter ended June, a decrease of $157 million, or 1.4%, compared to the second quarter of 2017. The stock edged down marginally.

Calfrac Well Services Ltd. (CFW.TO) reported a 67% jump in 2018-19 second quarter revenue, compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The stock plunged more than 5.7%, after initially trading higher.

First National Financial Corporation (FN.TO) reported revenues of $290.9 million for the quarter ended June 2018, compared to $292.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income declined to $46.3 million, from $68.8 million a year ago. The stock ended nearly 0.5% up.

MedReleaf Corp. (LEAF.TO) declined 1.8%. The company announced that it has acquired MED Colombia SAS for a total consideration of €2.75 million in cash. MED Colombia holds licences to cultivate cannabis and produce cannabis oil extracts, along with a library of cannabis genetics.

In the meeting with the European Union leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump is reported to have told that the U.S. wants a "fair trade deal" with the European Union.

"We should talk about reducing tariffs instead of increasing them," Juncker is quoted as saying. Trump then reportedly suggested the two sides could one day have no tariffs or barriers or subsidies on their products.

"We just want it to be a level playing field for our farmers, for our manufacturers, for everybody," Trump said, suggesting the EU could also be a "big beneficiary" of a revised trading agreement.

In commodities, crude oil futures for August delivery are up $0.76 or 1.11% at $69.28 a barrel, after data showed a larger than expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week.

According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories dropped by ove 6.1 million barrels to 404.9 million barrels in the week ended July 20. Data from EIA showed that supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma decreased by 1.127 million barrels last week.

Data released by the American Petroleum Institute after market hours on Tuesday had showed U.S. crude stockpiles to have dropped to 407.6 million barrels in the week ended July 20, down by nearly 3.2 million barrels from a week earlier.

Natural gas for August is up 0.040 or 1.47 percent at $2.759 per million btu.

Gold futures for August are up 6.50 or 0.53 percent at $1,232.00 an ounce, as the dollar weakened against most major currencies.

Silver for September is up $1.13 or 0.71 percent at $15.630 an ounce.

The U.S. market ended higher as traders reacted positively to a report about President Donald Trump securing concessions from Europe.

Major European markets ended lower on weak economic data and mixed corporate earnings reports.