Today’s top headlines
4:40 p.m.
Dollarama shares jump 6%
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Dollarama Inc. shares jumped six per cent on Wednesday as profits topped analyst expectations. The increase was primarily due to “higher than historical demand for consumables,” or food, and other household products.
— Marisa Coulton
4:24 p.m.
Markets close: TSX posts small gain, U.S. stock markets mixed
Canada’s main stock index posted a small gain Wednesday while U.S. stock markets were mixed after the latest report on inflation south of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 55.86 points at 20,278.94.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 70.46 points at 34,575.53. The S&P 500 index was up 5.54 points at 4,467.44, while the Nasdaq composite was up 39.97 points at 13,813.58.
The Canadian Press
12:15 p.m.
Rental rates reach new record in August
Average rents rose 1.8 per cent month over month — and 9.6 per cent year over year — to reach $2,117 in the month, with the year-over-year figure marking a four-month high. While it was a new record in terms of price, the 9.6 per cent figure was lower than the record 12 per cent increase in rents recorded in August 2022.
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12 p.m.
Markets update: Stocks move higher in midday trading
Stocks are hovering in the green in both Canada and the United States at midday.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 45.92 points at 20,269.02 at noon.
In the U.S., the S&P 500 was up 0.3 per cent after drifting between small gains and losses earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average was 68 points higher, or 0.2 per cent, at 34,714 and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4 per cent.
11:30 a.m.
Canada faces huge housing gap to reach affordability
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In Ontario, the supply gap is now estimated to be just shy of 1.5 million homes compared to the 1.85 million projected in 2022. But in Alberta, it has swelled to 130,000 from just 20,000.
Barbara Shecter, Financial Post
10:30 a.m.
Canadians’ household debt — not all good news
Household debt as a proportion of disposable income, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell to 180.5 per cent compared with 184.2 per cent in the first quarter of the year. That means there is now $1.81 in debt for every dollar of income.
Canadians’ debt service ratio also slipped lower to 14.79 per cent from 14.90 per cent in the first quarter, when it hit its highest point since 2019.
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TD economist Maria Solovieva says though the report looks like good news at first blush, “these improvements mask the pain felt by some Canadian households.”
Higher borrowing costs have already resulted in credit deterioration, she said and delinquency rates have either reached, or are near, pre-pandemic levels for most consumer credit products.
Financial Post and The Canadian Press
9:50 a.m.
Desmarais-controlled Sagard to launch Abu Dhabi office
The new office will be led by Firas Mallah, a finance executive with more than two decades of experience including six years as a managing director at BMO Global Asset Management in Abu Dhabi as well as fundraising expertise and relationships with institutional investors in the region.
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He is being brought on as managing director and head of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for Sagard, which invests in venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate and royalties and has 125 portfolio companies.
“Opening our new office in the United Arab Emirates is an important milestone towards our vision of becoming one of the most respected and impactful alternative investment management firms globally,” said Paul Desmarais III, who is chairman and CEO of Sagard. “We are already building on exciting local partnerships and are eager to accelerate our many opportunities for growth and collaboration.”
Mallah has been hired to develop an investor base and create “foundational” partnerships, Sagard said in a news release.
“The innovation, dynamism and ambition we have observed in the region make it an exciting place to offer our investment expertise in private markets,” he said.
The chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development said in a statement that global asset management firms such as Sagard will contribute to Abu Dhabi’s goal of building an international financial hub focused on innovation and accelerated sustainable growth.
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“We welcome Sagard to the ‘Capital of Capital’ and look forward to shaping the future of asset management in this dynamic region and beyond,” His Excellency Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi said in the news release.
— Barbara Shecter, Financial Post
9:40 a.m.
Opening bell: Stocks climb after inflation reading
It’s green on the screen for stocks at opening bell after data showed that U.S. inflation accelerated across the country last month, but not by much more than expected. The S&P 500 was up 0.2 per cent in early trading. The Dow was up 119, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2 per cent. The TSX was up 0.9 per cent.
8:30 a.m.
BREAKING — U.S. inflation rises but core prices cool
The gains in headline inflation was led by a spike in gas prices yet most other costs rose at a more modest pace.
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“Overall, there is nothing here to change the Fed’s plans to hold interest rates unchanged at next week’s FOMC meeting, and we still expect weaker economic growth and a continued normalization in the labour market to help drive a sharper fall in core inflation over the next 12 months than most others expect,” said Capital Economics Andrew Hunter after the data.
8 a.m.
Dollarama sales and profit climb
Sales for the quarter totalled $1.46 billion, up from $1.22 billion a year earlier, a gain that came from higher sales and growth in the number of stores.
Dollarama had 1,525 stores at the end of its most recent quarter, up from 1,444 a year earlier.
The Canadian Press
7:30 a.m.
Joaquin Phoenix, Rachel McAdams tell TIFF to drop RBC
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The campaign, called RBC Off Screen, says the bank’s track record of investing in fossil fuels runs contrary to the socially progressive values the film festival purports to stand for.
Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Joaquin Phoenix are among the stars who signed the open letter to TIFF, along with filmmakers and producers including Avi Lewis, Elza Kephart and Jose Luis Gutierrez.
The Canadian Press
What to watch today
All eyes will be on the latest reading for the U.S. Consumer Price Index (August) when it comes out at 8:30. The inflation numbers are very important to the United States Federal Reserve as it prepares for its next rate decision Sept. 20
Earnings: Dollarama Inc., Dye & Durham
Stocks are pulling back this morning as investors wait for this morning’s big report on U.S. inflation. European and Asian and U.S. futures are all in the red.
Last night tech stocks pushed U.S. markets lower.
- Oracle Corp. dropped 13.5 per cent after revenue missed analyst expectations.
- Apple Inc. fell 1.8 per cent after unveiling its latest iPhone
- Alphabet Inc. was down 1.2 per cent as an antitrust trial against Google began in a U.S. Federal Court, the biggest such trial since regulators took on Microsoft in 1998.
This is what things look like this morning
Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg
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