MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday. Quotations in Canadian funds.

Australia dollar 0.9017

Brazil real 0.3298

China renminbi 0.188

Euro 1.4734

Hong Kong dollar 0.1693

India rupee 0.01858

Indonesia rupiah 0.000093

Japan yen 0.01247

Malaysia ringgit 0.3178

Mexico peso 0.06745

N.Z. dollar 0.8511

Norway krone 0.1484

Peruvian new sol 0.3931

Russia rouble 0.02019

Saudi riyal 0.354

Singapore dollar 0.96

South Africa rand 0.08737

South Korean won 0.001104

Sweden krona 0.1379

Switzerland franc 1.3534

Taiwanese dollar 0.04236

Thailand baht 0.04314

Turkey lira 0.2322

U.K. pound 1.6112

U.S. dollar 1.3278

Vietnam dong 0.000057

The markets today

North American stock indexes have almost recovered from last week’s steep losses after moving higher midweek on some strong earnings results. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 95.92 points at 16,309.23, about 30 points shy of where it was before last week’s major drops.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 240.29 points at 26,202.73. The S&P 500 index was up 23.92 points at 2,924.43, while the Nasdaq composite was up 71.65 points at 8,020.21.

Minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting failed to move markets much. The central bank cut interest rates for the first time since before the financial recession even as a couple of members wanted a 50 basis point cut and a couple saw no need to cut rates at all. Investors will be watching closely as Fed chairman Jerome Powell is expected to provide commentary on interest rates Friday at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

The Canadian dollar rose to its highest level in about a week after Canada’s annual inflation hit the Bank of Canada’s target of two per cent for a second straight month in July.

The loonie traded for an average of 75.31 cents US compared with an average of 75.06 cents US on Monday. Eight of the 11 major sectors of the TSX were higher, led by information technology. It rose 1.85 per cent as Shopify Inc. hit an all-time high of $519.69 and closed up four per cent at $519.07. That’s up 225 per cent from the 52-week low. Also rising were health care, energy, industrials and financials. The key energy sector climbed 0.95 per cent despite a dip in crude oil prices as Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. surged 31.6 per cent after Pembina Pipeline Corp. announced it would buy the company the U.S. portion of the Cochin pipeline system in deals it valued at a total of about $4.35 billion. The October crude contract was down 45 cents at US$55.68 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down 4.8 cents at US$2.17 per mmBTU. Financials was up as the Royal Bank increased its dividend as its third-quarter profit rose by five per cent but the lender’s latest earnings missed estimates as challenging market conditions weighed on its capital markets division. Materials was lower even though the December gold contract was unchanged at US$1,515.70 an ounce.