Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.24%

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Advanced Micro Devices

-3.71%

Summary:

Investing.com – Canada stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Materials, Energy and IT sectors led...

Investing.com – Canada stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Materials, Energy and IT sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite added 0.24% to hit a new all time high.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR), which rose 14.48% or 4.75 points to trade at 37.55 at the close. Meanwhile, Denison Mines Corp (TSX:DML) added 8.97% or 0.48 points to end at 5.83 and NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX:NXE) was up 8.53% or 1.48 points to 18.84 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Aritzia Inc (TSX:ATZ), which fell 6.21% or 7.15 points to trade at 107.94 at the close. Curaleaf Holdings Inc (TSX:CURA) declined 5.99% or 0.20 points to end at 3.14 and Lithium Americas Corp (TSX:LAC) was down 4.69% or 0.40 points to 8.13.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 491 to 475 and 76 ended unchanged.

Shares in Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 14.48% or 4.75 to 37.55. Shares in Denison Mines Corp (TSX:DML) rose to 5-year highs; rising 8.97% or 0.48 to 5.83. Shares in NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX:NXE) rose to all time highs; up 8.53% or 1.48 to 18.84.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was down 2.36% to 14.90.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 5.75% or 294.24 to $5,414.84 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 1.80% or 1.12 to hit $63.51 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 1.53% or 1.02 to trade at $67.61 a barrel.

CAD/USD was unchanged 0.23% to 0.74, while CAD/EUR rose 0.99% to 0.62.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 96.19.

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Colombia stocks higher at close of trade; COLCAP up 0.41%

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Espey Manufacturing & Electronics

-2.28%

Hywin

0.00%

Investing.com – Colombia stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Industrials, Services and Agriculture sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Colombia, the COLCAP added 0.41%.

The best performers of the session on the COLCAP were Bolsa De Valores De Colombia (BVC:BVC), which rose 9.40% or 1,440.00 points to trade at 16,760.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA Pref (BVC:GAA_p) added 5.96% or 54.00 points to end at 960.00 and Banco Davivienda Pf (BVC:DVI_p) was up 3.62% or 980.00 points to 28,020.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Bancolombia Pf (BVC:BIC_p1), which fell 2.06% or 1,600.00 points to trade at 76,200.00 at the close. Interconnection Electric SA ESP (BVC:ISA) declined 1.64% or 540.00 points to end at 32,340.00 and Organizacion Terpel SA (BVC:TPL) was down 1.48% or 300.00 points to 20,000.00.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Colombia Stock Exchange by 1 to 0.

Shares in Bolsa De Valores De Colombia (BVC:BVC) rose to 5-year highs; up 9.40% or 1,440.00 to 16,760.00. Shares in Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA Pref (BVC:GAA_p) rose to 3-years highs; rising 5.96% or 54.00 to 960.00.

US coffee C for March delivery was down 4.42% or 16.25 to $351.00 . Elsewhere in commodities trading, US cocoa for delivery in March fell 6.47% or 287.00 to hit $4,146.00 , while the April Gold Futures contract rose 5.89% or 301.59 to trade at $5,422.19 a troy ounce.

USD/COP was up 1.60% to 3,680.00, while BRL/COP rose 1.33% to 708.31.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.13% at 96.18.

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Russia stocks higher at close of trade; MOEX Russia Index up 0.18%

Investing.com

Advanced Micro Devices

-3.71%

Investing.com – Russia stocks were higher after the close on Wednesday, as gains in the Mining, Oil & Gas and Power sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Moscow, the MOEX Russia Index gained 0.18% to hit a new 3-months high.

The best performers of the session on the MOEX Russia Index were Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat PAO (MCX:MAGN), which rose 3.04% or 0.88 points to trade at 29.63 at the close. Meanwhile, Surgutneftegas PJSC Pref (MCX:SNGS_p) added 1.96% or 0.86 points to end at 44.66 and AFK Sistema PJSC (MCX:AFKS) was up 1.42% or 0.19 points to 13.43 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Aeroflot PJSC (MCX:AFLT), which fell 1.26% or 0.74 points to trade at 57.93 at the close. LUKOIL PJSC (MCX:LKOH) declined 1.14% or 60.50 points to end at 5,223.50 and Mobil’nye Telesistemy PJSC (MCX:MTSS) was down 1.05% or 2.40 points to 226.85.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Moscow Stock Exchange by 149 to 94 and 10 ended unchanged.

The Russian Volatility Index – RVI, which measures the implied volatility of MOEX Russia Index options, was down 0.23% to 25.67.

Gold Futures for April delivery was up 5.85% or 299.49 to $5,420.09 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 1.76% or 1.10 to hit $63.49 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 1.50% or 1.00 to trade at $67.59 a barrel.

USD/RUB was up 0.40% to 76.55, while EUR/RUB fell 0.37% to 91.45.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.14% at 96.19.

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Stocks end flat after Fed holds rates steady, focus turns to Big Tech earnings

Investing.com

Advanced Micro Devices

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks ended largely flat on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as widely expected and Chair Jerome Powell refused to discuss anything about the Trump administration’s investigation into the central bank.

Earlier gains in the morning had seen the benchmark S&P 500 index briefly breaching the historic 7,000 points level for the first time ever immediately after the opening bell. The gauge eventually settled virtually unchanged at 6,978.52 points.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded flat at 49,015.54 points. The NASDAQ Composite eked out a 0.2% gain to close at 23,857.45 points, with the focus now turning to upcoming quarterly results from Big Tech companies after the closing bell.

Powell silent on investigation

The Federal Reserve kept its key policy rate unchanged, halting a series of three successive 25-basis point interest rate cuts.

More than the rate decision, traders were keen to see whether Powell would address the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into the renovation of a Fed building.

But the central bank chief refused to talk about it, referencing reporters to his extraordinary statement earlier this month in which he claimed that the investigation was a punishment for not setting interest rates as per President Donald Trump’s preferences.

Powell’s term ends in May, and Trump said on Tuesday he will announce his pick for the new head of the Federal Reserve soon.

Major tech earnings to shape market direction

Earnings are another major driver this week, with four members of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” technology group set to report.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are all due to release results after the close Wednesday, followed by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Thursday.

Together, these companies carry significant weight in major indexes, and their outlooks on artificial intelligence spending, cloud demand and consumer trends are expected to shape market direction in the days ahead.

Record quarterly orders from Dutch chip equipment giant ASML Holding NV (AS:ASML) lifted chip stocks and were a shot in the arm for the AI trade. The company also said it would shed about 1,700 jobs, mostly in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, its current quarter revenue guidance comfortably beat expectations.

Also helping the AI trade was Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN). The stock soared after the analog chipmaker’s rosy quarterly forecast showed the AI data center boom was driving demand for chips beyond Nvidia’s advanced processors.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) stock gained after the memory device maker reported second-quarter adjusted earnings that exceeded expectations, helped by the rapid buildout of artificial intelligence data centers.

Beyond tech, AT&T (NYSE:T) stock rose after the telecom giant forecast annual profit above market expectations, on bets that its wireless and fiber network expansion would allow the U.S. carrier to tap growing 5G and high-speed internet demand.

Swedish streaming platform Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry in 2025, marking the largest annual payment to music from a retailer in history.

Gold hits another record high

Gold prices hit a record high above $5,300 an ounce on Wednesday amid strong safe haven demand, with those gains holding after the Fed’s rate decision.

Other precious metals also remained upbeat, with silver and platinum both remaining close to recent record highs.

Oil prices extended their advance after the Fed, adding to their recent gains following the severe winter storm in the U.S.

Brent futures rose 1.4% to $67.49 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.6% to $63.42 a barrel.

Both benchmarks surged about 3% on Tuesday, after closing at the end of last week at their highest points since January 14.

Estimates suggest U.S. producers lost up to 2 million barrels per day, or roughly 15% of national output, as the storm disrupted energy infrastructure and power grids.

Ayushman Ojha and Peter Nurse contributed to this article

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Chip Makers Point to Accelerating Demand. It's a Big Deal. — Barrons.com

Dow Jones Newswires

By Tae Kim

Tea Leaves. Hi everyone. Earnings season has begun and a handful of important chip companies have already reported.

There are already two key takeaways investors should know. First, there's improvement in demand. We already knew demand was robust, but companies are now saying it is accelerating even more. Second, the visibility of orders and durability of demand is extending further out.

Late Tuesday, Texas Instruments surprised analysts with a better-than-expected guidance for the March quarter. "We did see orders improving through the quarter," CEO Haviv Ilan said on the earnings conference call, citing continuing recovery in the industrial sector and strength in the data center market.

Texas Instruments sells the basic building-block chips that go into products in nearly every sector of the economy, from autos and industrials to consumer electronics. The better outlook is a sign the upturn is broadening beyond just AI chips to other sectors. It bodes well for other analog chip companies.

The other big report this week was ASML Holding, which has a near monopoly on advanced lithography machines, crucial for manufacturing high-performance semiconductors.

There was a clear inflection point in demand for ASML's products. The Dutch maker of chip-making equipment said Wednesday that orders for the December quarter came to EUR13.2 billion ($15.7 billion), nearly double what analysts had forecast.

"The market outlook has improved notably over the last months," ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said on the earnings call. "We have seen a notable increase in acceleration of capacity expansion planning across a large majority of our customer base."

The robust commentary suggests chip makers are seeing rising demand and are willing to invest many billions of dollars to add capacity going into next year.

Texas Instruments stock surged 9.9% on Wednesday, while ASML stock fell 2%. I wouldn't read too much into ASML stock's reaction, as it is likely more due to short-term trader positioning. The order numbers and fundamental commentary are extremely positive.

Finally, there is Intel. The chip maker's shares fell last week following a disappointing revenue forecast for the current quarter as demand outstripped supply. On earnings day Thursday, Intel Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told me processor demand was "really strong," but the company had worked through much of its prior inventory and was still facing "supply constraints." He said supply will improve each quarter for the rest of this year as they build more capacity.

But one Zinsner remark on the earnings call was the most eye opening and shouldn't be overlooked. The executive said he spoke to multiple hyperscaler customers before the call and they implied the strong demand would last "several years."

So how should investors digest the latest information? Commodity chip stocks may go up dramatically but there is high risk they will drop the most on the inevitable news of large capacity expansion. Unless you are a nimble trader with special insight on what is happening in the supply chain, I would avoid those names.

It's best to stick to the highest-quality companies with durable competitive advantages. Look for strong proprietary intellectual property positions and firms with near monopolies or duopolies over their markets and products that are hard to substitute. ASML, TSMC, and Nvidia fit the bill. Add to them on dips.

This Week in Barron's Tech

Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs. What's Behind Its Largest Ever Corporate Layoffs.
CoreWeave Stock Rises Again. Wall Street Loves Nvidia's Investment.
ASML Reports Record Orders Amid AI Chip Boom
Zoom Stock Is Soaring. Its Investment in Anthropic Is a 'Hidden Gem.'
Microsoft's New AI Chip Can't Keep Nvidia Stock Down

Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com or follow him on X at @firstadopter.

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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Corning Garners Analyst And Retail Attention After Q4 Results, Meta Deal

Stocktwits

Corning, Inc. (GLW) shares were in the spotlight among Wall Street analysts as well as retail investors after the company posted market-beating fourth-quarter (Q4) 2025 results on Wednesday, shortly after announcing a mega deal with Meta Platforms, Inc. (META).

Bank of America (BAC) raised its price target on Corning to $120 from $110 and maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares, citing a slight revenue beat in Q4 results, according to TheFly. BofA’s price target represents an upside of about 15% from the current stock price of $104.56.

JPMorgan also raised the price target on the company to $115 from $100 and maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares, as per TheFly.

Meanwhile, on Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GLW shares were in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

Earnings Update

The material science company reported revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, up about 14% from the same period last year, and beating analyst estimates of $4.35 billion, as per data from Fiscal.ai.

Meanwhile, the company’s earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter came in at $0.72, growing about 26% year-on-year, and marginally beating street expectations of $0.71.

For the upcoming quarter, the company provided revenue guidance in the range of $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion, a 15% increase year-on-year, and EPS in the range of $0.66 to $0.70.

The company also announced an upgrade to its Springboard Plan, with an expectation to add $11 billion in incremental annualized sales by the end of 2028, about $3 billion higher than its original target.

Analyst Rationale

BofA said that its target update to GLW shares comes after its Q4 results, bolstered by better-than-expected sales in Display and Hemlock, but a surprising miss in its Optical segment.

Despite the near-term softer Optical sales, the analyst said it remains bullish on the growth opportunity in the next one to two years, driven by data center buildouts and the longer-term opportunity as copper shifts to fiber.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan cited Corning’s $6 billion deal with Meta, noting that it sees the agreement as an indicator of "robust " demand drivers for data center infrastructure equipment.

On Wednesday, Corning signed a deal with the tech giant to supply optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions for its new data centers.

While shares of GLW slipped more than 5% on Wednesday, paring some gains from the day before, the stock has more than doubled in the past year.

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BRC Group stock rises after regaining Nasdaq compliance

Investing.com

Investing.com -- BRC Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RILY) stock rose up to 2% before paring gains after the diversified holding company announced it has regained compliance with Nasdaq’s Periodic Filing Rule 5250(c)(1).

The company, formerly known as B. Riley Financial, received confirmation from Nasdaq on January 27, 2026, that it is now in compliance with the exchange’s listing requirements related to timely financial filings.

As part of the resolution, Nasdaq has imposed a "Mandatory Panel Monitor" on BRC Group for a one-year period. Under this monitoring arrangement, if the company fails to meet filing deadlines during the next year, it would not be given an opportunity to provide a compliance plan. Instead, BRC would receive a Delist Determination Letter, after which it could request a hearing to appeal.

BRC Group Holdings operates as a diversified holding company with interests spanning financial services, telecommunications, retail, and various equity, debt, and venture capital investments. The company’s core financial services platform focuses on providing customized solutions to small cap and middle market companies.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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