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The Bank of Canada, as expected, raised its overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75% on Wednesday. This was the first rate hike in seven years, making the Bank of Canada the first major central bank to join the Federal Reserve in raising rates. The Bank of Canada’s decision was driven by its confidence in its outlook for faster growth in the economy. Shortly after the decision, the Canadian dollar rallied, with the U.S. dollar trading at C$1.2832, down 0.7% from C$1.2917 on Tuesday.

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The Canadian dollar rose against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after the Bank of Canada raised interest rates, as had been expected. Against the Canadian dollar , the U.S. dollar bought C$1.2851, compared with C$1.2940 prior to the announcement. It ended late Tuesday at C$1.2917. Separately, the iShares MSCI Canada ETF , an exchange-traded fund that is one of the most popular ways for investors to get exposure to the Canadian equity market, rose 1.7%, extending its rise on the day following the announcement.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, in prepared congressional testimony, said interest rate increases would be gradual and that they wouldn’t need to rise much further. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82 points, or 0.4%, to 21,497. The S&P 500 added 10 points to 2,436, a gain of 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 46 points to 6,240, a rise of 0.8%. Stocks have been supported by low rates over the past several years, and abrupt changes to that environment could lead to volatility in equities. Also boosting stocks was the energy sector, which gained alongside a 2% jump in the price of crude oil. Among the biggest gainers, Chesapeake Energy Corp. added 1.7% while Exxon Mobil Corp. was up 0.8%.

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Back-to-school spending is expected to reach $27 billion in sales, according to the latest survey from Deloitte. More than a quarter of shoppers (28%) will shop at off-price retailers, like T.J. Maxx, a TJX Cos. chain, a 10 percentage-point rise from last year. And 28% expect to shop in department stores, down from 54% last year. Sixty percent of shoppers will head to stores in August, spending an average of $532, higher than the $458 the remaining parents who will shop in August or later expect to spend. More than half (57%) will shop in stores while 21% expect to shop online. About 29 million households will take part in the back-to-school shopping season, which is the second largest of the year. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 12% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 8.3% for the period.

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Visa on Wednesday said it would award up to $500,000 to 50 small U.S. food service owners who commit to going cashless. The company believes firms could save billions by using only digital payments. The initiative is called the Visa Cashless Challenge.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday that Royal Bank of Scotland PLC will pay $5.5 billion for misdeeds relating to the sale of mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007. RBS will pay $4.5 billion to Freddie Mac and $975 million to Fannie Mae .

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Shares of Kindred Biosciences Inc. dropped 3.2% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the biotechnology company focused on pet health announced a public offering of stock to raise $22.5 million. The company said it was selling 3 million shares at $7.50 a share, which was 4.5% below Tuesday’s closing price of $7.88. The share amount represents 12.7% of the total shares outstanding. Kindred has granted the underwriters options to buy an additional 450,000 shares of common stock. The offering is expected to close on July 17. Kindred plans to use the proceeds from the offering to expand its infrastructure in anticipation of product approvals and launches, for the development of drug candidates and general corporate purposes. The stock has soared 85% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.3%.

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Barnes & Noble Education Inc. , a contract operator of bookstores for educational institutions, reported fourth quarter net income of $227,000, breaking even on earnings per share, after a loss of $2.8 million, or 6 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was for 14 cents per share. Sales totaled $342.8 million, up from $294.8 million last year and ahead of the $311.0 million FactSet consensus. Same-store sales increased 1.4%. The FactSet consensus was for a 2.8% decline. The company completed the acquisition of MBS Textbook Exchange in February and says it will now report in two segments, one for Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, or BNC, and one for MBS. There are 712 MBS stores. The company sees flat fiscal-year 2018 BNC sales and expects same-store sales to decline in the low- to mid-single digit percentage point range. Consolidated sales are expected to be in the range of $2.25 billion to $2.35 billion before “intercompany eliminations.” Barnes & Noble Education shares are unchanged in Wednesday premarket trading, and down 12.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 8.3% for 2017 to date.

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The broadcast TV arm of 21st Century Fox Inc. said on Wednesday that it’s entered into a new long-term affiliation agreement with local TV operator Nexstar Media Group Inc. . The agreement, which extends Fox programming to Nexstar’s 17 full power and two low power stations through the end of 2019, also gives Nexstar over-the-top digital distribution capabilities. Nexstar Chief Executive Perry Sook said that Fox’s programming, such as its NFL, MLB and NASCAR sports content, as well as scripted shows, including “Empire” and “The X-Files” are popular with Nexstar viewers. And the over-the-top master agreement includes agreements to launch on all internet streaming platforms already distributing Fox programming. “Our affiliation with Fox supports our goals for delivering great entertainment and information to viewers and advertisers anywhere, anytime and on any device, while creating a new revenue stream for Nexstar related to the OTT master agreement.” Shares of Nexstar have fallen more than 4% in the year to date, while Fox shares have gained less than 1% and the S&P 500 index has gained more than 8%.

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Shares of Cara Therapeutics Inc. surged 13.7% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company reported positive results in an early-stage trial of a treatment for chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus patients, or CKD-aP. Pruritus, or itch, is a common symptom for patients with chronic renal failure, affecting about half of those with stage 3 to 5 CKD. Cara said results from the Phase 1 trial of Oral CR845 in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis showed all four tablet strengths were well-tolerated on a daily basis or after dialysis three times a week. CR845 is a peripherally acting kappa opioid receptor agonist currently in development for the treatment of acute and chronic pain and pruritus, said Cara. Plasma levels of CR845 attained after oral administration of the 1.0 mg tablet strength were close to those attained with the 1.0 mcg/kg I.V. CR845 dose, “which demonstrated significant clinical benefit” in another recent trial, the company said. Frédérique Menzaghi, Ph.D., vice president of research and development at Cara, said the data will inform the design of a planned Oral CR845 pruritus clinical program in the non-dialysis CKD-aP population, which the company is planning to start later this year. Cara shares have gained 35% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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