By Adriano Marchese


Stocks in Toronto were firmly higher Wednesday mid-trading, pushed up by nearly all sectors. In the session, finance stocks led the gains with National Bank of Canada's acquisition of Canadian Western Bank, followed by tech and commercial services stocks. Energy was the only decliner of the session.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.8% higher at 22056.95 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 rose by 0.7% to 1317.42.

National Bank of Canada's shares were 5.4% lower at 110.05 Canadian dollars ($79.99) after lender said it would spend roughly C$5 billion to buy Canadian Western Bank at a premium of 110% from the previous day's share price. Shares of Canadian Western soared by 71% to C$42.48.


Other market movers:

Dollarama's profit rose above expectations in the first fiscal quarter as Canadians continue to seek out value amid still-high cost of living in the country. The dollar-store chain also said it increased its majority ownership in Latin American value retailer Dollarcity by 10% in exchange for newly-issued stock, with plans to take expand to Mexico. Shares were down 2.4% to C$122.73.


Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-12-24 1229ET