Nov. 4, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --

Canadian stocks looked to extend yesterday's rally Wednesday morning as investors sort through a barrage of earnings reports. Gold continued to charge toward $1,100 U.S., which could push the related sectors higher again. Soon after the opening, the S&P/TSX composite index leaped 66.97 points, to 11,092.87. In corporate news, Agrium announced adjusted third-quarter net earnings of $46 million U.S. or $0.29 U.S. earnings per share, compared to $0.16 U.S. per share forecast by analysts. Yamana Gold announced that its third-quarter net earnings were $60.82 million U.S. or $0.08 U.S. per share, compared to $150.20 million U.S. or $0.21 U.S. per share in the year-ago quarter. Iamgold Corp. reported that its third-quarter net earnings were $64.9 million U.S. or $0.18 U.S. per share, compared to $18.8 million U.S. or $0.06 U.S. per share in the same quarter last year. WestJet reported third-quarter net earnings of $31.4 million or $0.24 per share, compared to net earnings of $57.9 million or $0.45 per share in the year-ago quarter. Enbridge reported third-quarter net earnings applicable to common shareholders of $303.8 million or $0.83 per share, compared to $148.4 million or $0.41 per share last year. The Canadian dollar gained 0.53 cents to 94.02 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET All but two of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher on Wednesday, led by a 1.9% jump by metals and mining. Global base metals were up 1.4% and materials prospered 1% Only utilities and health-care stocks were off, and those only marginally. The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 9.43 points to 1,336.18, while the Nasdaq Canada index headed upwards 36.33 points to 646.40. ON WALLSTREET In New York, stocks opened higher Wednesday, as Wall Street cheered a number of Republican election wins ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting decision. The Dow Jones Industrials raced ahead 60.98 points at the opening to 9,832.89. The S&P 500 index gained 7.79 points to 1,053.20. The Nasdaq composite index added 9.90 points to 2,067.22. Wall Street ended a volatile day mixed on Tuesday as investors digested rising commodity prices and Warren Buffett's buyout of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe. But positive market momentum appeared as investors were encouraged by several Republicans victories, including the gubernatorial races in both New Jersey and Virginia. More broadly, the wins reflect a sharp rebuke by Americans of current policies in Washington, including massive spending programs that have helped grow the federal deficit. Still, much of Wednesday's focus was on the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, set to conclude Wednesday afternoon Investors have been nervous about the economic recovery recently and have been anxiously awaiting some guidance from the central bank about how it plans to remove billions of dollars in stimulus funds it has poured into the economy in the wake of the financial crisis. Investors will be looking for clues in the Fed statement, which is due to be released at 2:15 pm ET. The central bank is widely expected to hold the fed funds rate, a key overnight bank lending rate, at historic lows near 0%. In other economic news, outplacement firm Challenger reported that planned layoffs slowed in October to 55,679, 16% fewer than in September. It was the third consecutive monthly decline. And payroll services firm ADP said Wednesady that private-sector jobs fell by 203,000 during the month. The number, while worse than expected, revealed that job losses continue to ease. On the earnings front, Time Warner, the parent company of CNNMoney.com, reported quarterly profit and revenue above estimates. The company also forecast $100 million U.S. of restructuring charges for the current quarter. And cable operator Comcast reported a 22% increase in net income before Wednesday's opening bell, beating Wall Street estimates. In other corporate news, Fiat is scheduled to reveal its new five-year turnaround plan for Chrysler on Wednesday. But it's unclear whether the changes will come in time to save the company. And General Motors said late Tuesday it was scrapping the sale of its European unit Opel. Treasury prices lost more ground, raising the yields for the benchmark 10-year note to 3.50% from Tuesday's 3.47%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil picked up 33 cents to $79.93 U.S. Gold prices gained $6 to $1,091 U.S. an ounce.