A marker for the Bank of Canada is pictured in Ottawa on September 6, 2011. The Bank of Canada keeps its key policy rate on hold at one per cent. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickThe Canadian Press
The Toronto stock market climbed Wednesday morning as gold and oil prices strengthened and the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged.
The S&P/TSX composite index rose 131.0 points, or 0.90 per cent, to 14,751.07 in morning trading.
The Canadian dollar is at 87.88 cents (U.S.), rising 0.11 of a cent after the central bank's decision.
In its rate announcement, the central bank says inflation climbed faster than expected due to the temporary effects of a lower Canadian dollar and price jumps in certain consumer sectors. The BoC also pointed to falling oil prices and household debt as economic risks.
On the TSX, energy stocks rose four per cent as the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved ahead 57 cents at $67.45 a barrel.
The gold sector also moved up as February bullion lifted $3.20 to $1,202.60 an ounce, while March copper is down 2.3 cents at $2.869 a pound.
TSX financials rose 0.3 per cent following quarterly results from Royal Bank, which said an improvement in its Canadian operations helped increase its fourth-quarter profit by 11 per cent to $2.33-billion (Canadian). Its adjusted earnings of $1.59 per diluted share came in a cent above the average estimate compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Royal Bank shares rose 50 cents to $81.92.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials inched up 6.89 points to 17,886.44, building on a record high close on Tuesday. The Nasdaq slipped 5.19 points to 4,750.62 while the S&P 500 index gained 3.32 points to 2,0069.87.
A report from the U.S. Labor Department said workers' productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.3 per cent in the third quarter, which was a slightly faster pace than previously estimated while labour costs declined for a second straight quarter.
Overseas, central banks for the United Kingdom and European Union make their statements on Thursday.
Financial information company Markit said its euro zone purchasing managers' index, a broad gauge of activity across the manufacturing and services sectors, slipped a full point to a 16-month low of 51.1 in November largely on the back of subdued orders. The index still points to modest growth as it's above the 50 threshold between expansion and contraction.
The FTSE 100 in London is down 0.27 per cent at 6,724, Germany's Dax is up 0.27 per cent to 9,961 and the Paris CAC 40 is off 0.02 per cent at 4,387.
In Asia, Shanghai gained 0.58 per cent to close at 2,779.53, Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.32 per cent to close at 17,720.43 and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.95 per cent to 23,428.62.