Daily Wrap-up: TSX rises on Fed, oil gains

TSX rises on Fed, oil gains
The main index of the Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher Wednesday after an optimistic session including a strong rise for oil prices and the Fed’s positive tone on the US economy.

Half of the sector groups closed out the session higher, led by materials and industrials while health care and utilities were the largest drags.

Wall Street’s three main indexes also closed higher as the Fed announced it was holding interest rates steady. European bourses also closed higher while Asian markets closed mixed earlier in the day.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 16.43 (0.11 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed up 26.85 (0.14 per cent)
Oil is trending higher (Brent $56.54, WTI $53.56 at 4.10pm)
Gold is trending lower (1210.90 at 4.10pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7661
 
Mexico is preparing for NAFTA renegotiation
Mexico is launching a 90-day consultation period for businesses to tell officials what they want from a new NAFTA.

With President Trump expected to want a renegotiation of the 23-year-old agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada, Mexico says it is open to changes but won’t accept quotas or border taxes.
 
Canopy Growth changes TSX ticker to ‘WEED’
Medical marijuana firm Canopy Growth has changed its TSX ticker name to WEED following its acquisition of rival Mettrum. The Ontario firm is now supplying around half the medicinal marijuana patients in the country with over 40,000 customers.

Canopy CEO Bruce Linton said that there is now more acceptance of the cannabis market: “This is owed to a lot of factors, but we are proud to have played our part in introducing a once-stigmatized topic into Main Street and Bay Street conversations.” 
 
PointClickCare opts for VC not IPO
Canadian health-tech firm PointClickCare has decided to delay its IPO and raise funds from venture capital instead.

The Ontario firm was planning a $100 million IPO and would have been the first Canadian tech IPO since Shopify Inc. went public last May. However, it has now raised U$85 million in venture capital in the US and says it will wait to go public when the timing is right.