STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS

Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, and Annette Verschuren, chair and CEO of NRStor Inc., will speak at the Canadian Club in Toronto on economic growth

Some heavyweights weigh in with earnings today, including Procter & Gamble, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Tesla, and Kinder Morgan.

Investors will also get a reading on eurozone inflation and a look at the U.S. economy when the Federal Reserve issues the Beige Book economic survey.

Stay on top of today’s breaking business news as it happens or get a refresher on yesterday’s top headlines? 

Stock markets before the opening bell

Oil prices are up and U.S. futures down this morning after an explosion at a Gaza hospital complicated diplomatic efforts to rein in conflict in the Middle East. Gold prices rose as investors snapped up haven assets.

West Texas Intermediate jumped US$1.66 to US$88.32 per barrel.

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Tuesday’s top 3 performers on the TSX

The S&P/TSX composite index went its own way on Oct. 17, closing higher after September inflation numbers showed the consumer price index is decelerating.

South of the border, however, stock markets slipped after retail sales came in higher than expected, raising fears the United States Federal Reserve would need to keep interest rates high to cool the economy and inflation.

Economists in Canada now generally believe the Bank of Canada will not hike rates again this year.

The composite index closed up 0.37 per cent at 19,692.8 as most of the major sectors posted gains: materials rose the most — 1.89 per cent — followed by information technology, up 0.88 per cent, consumer staples at 0.48 per cent, energy at 0.17 per cent and financials at 0.12 per cent.

There were 144 gainers and 81 losers on the day.

Here are the top three performers on the index for Oct. 17:

One-day change: 5.37 per cent

Year-to-date change: 24.7 per cent

Laval, Que.-based Bausch’s shares have risen and fallen this year as its fight against Norwich Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s introduction of a generic version of Xifaxan, which treats irritable bowel syndrome, winds its way through the courts.

Bausch’s Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc. unit was in a District of Columbia court last week arguing for a 30-month delay on the sale of Norwich’s generic drug.

Analysts currently have one buy, five holds and one sell on the stock, and an average 12-month price target of $13.10, according to Bloomberg.

Bausch Health closed at $10.60.

• First Majestic Silver Corp.

One-day change: 5.3 per cent

Year-to-date change: -31.29 per cent

Shares of First Majestic appear to be riding a wave that started Oct. 13 when the price of gold rose above US$1,900 on worries about the Israel-Hamas war.

The Vancouver-based miner, which produces silver and gold at facilities in Mexico and Nevada, just came off its year-to-date low in late September.

But it still lags peers such as Endeavour Silver Corp., New Gold Inc. and Wheaton Precious Metals on the year. For example, Wheaton Precious Metals and New Gold are up approximately 11 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.

Analysts currently have two buys, four holds and no sells on First Majestic, and an average 12-month price target of $11.48, according to Bloomberg.

First Majestic closed at $7.75.

One-day change: 4.61 per cent

Year-to-date change: 3.07 per cent

Shares of Toronto-based Wesdome, which has underground gold mines in various stages of development in Canada, have risen well past their lows earlier this year after the company missed production guidance.

The stock peaked in May after reaffirming its full-year production forecast. But on Oct. 16, National Bank of Canada noted that Wesdome’s third-quarter production of 27,800 ounces of gold missed the bank’s estimate. Despite the miss, Wesdome said it was on track to meet the mid-point of its 2023 production target.

National Bank has an outperform rating and a price target of $11 on Wesdome’s stock.

Analysts currently have four buys, six holds and no sells on the stock, and an average 12-month price target of $9.71, according to Bloomberg.

Wesdome closed Oct. 17 at $7.71.

Gigi Suhanic, Financial Post

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