Toronto's main stock index moved a mite higher on Thursday, buoyed by rising commodity prices and upbeat economic data.
The S&P TSX Composite Index gained 48.38 points in Thursday’s first hour to 12,692.39.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.34 cents at 101.38 U.S. cents
Stocks to watch this morning include Bombardier Inc. The commercial plane maker reported a lower quarterly profit as it delivered less number of commercial and business aircraft partly due to a curtailed reporting period.
Royal Bank of Canada’s earnings declined to $1.86 billion or $1.21 a share, down from $1.27 last year.
Research in Motion Ltd. is likely to pre-announce poor February quarter results and forecast a "very weak" May quarter on lower sales of its phones, according to Jefferies & Co analysts.
Constellation Software posted a 72% rise in quarterly profit, helped by acquisitions and higher sales at both its private and public sector businesses.
Oil and gas explorer Ithaca Energy Inc. said it had received unsolicited takeover offers from a number of parties.
Canadian investors will no doubt be combing through the latest batch of fiscal first-quarter bank earnings, which fell. Royal Bank of Canada’s earnings declined to $1.86 billion or $1.21 a share, down from $1.27 last year.
Toronto-Dominion Bank’s earnings shrank to $1.48 billion from $1.56 billion last year, but the bank boosted its dividend by four cents a share. Bank of Montreal kicked off the Big Banks’ earnings earlier this week with upbeat results.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its Industrial Product Price Index rose 0.3% in January, led by petroleum products and primary metals. Its Raw Materials Price Index edged up the same month by 0.1%, mostly due to higher wood and metal prices.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained four points to 1,675.53, while the Nasdaq Canada index dipped 0.37 points to 421
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers early Thursday, with gold, metals and mining and global base metal stocks all surging 1.1% each.
The seven laggards were weighed down mostly by information technology, off 0.7%, health-care, 0.6% less hale, and industrials, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rose early Thursday, as investors digested upbeat economic data and strong sales results from retailers
The Dow Jones Industrials acquired 51.16 points to begin the session at 13,003.20.
The S&P 500 added 4.94 points to 1,370.62, while the Nasdaq gained 15.02 points to 2,981.91
The financial sector led the advance, with Bank of America, JPMorgan and American Express among the top performers.
Shares of Wal-Mart gained ground, after the company raised its annual dividend 9% to $1.59 per share.
Clothing retailer Kenneth Cole beat fourth-quarter earnings and sales estimates. Fellow retailer Limited Brands, which owns Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, said same-store sales in February rose 8%.
Shares of Wendy's edged up after the fast food chain beat earnings estimates by a penny. The company also topped sales estimates.
Grocery chain Kroger's stock was also higher thanks to better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Investors will tuning into Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's second day on Capitol Hill, as he gives his semi-annual report on the economy to the Senate.
On Wednesday, the Fed chief faced the House Financial Serves Committee -- and what he had to say wasn't exactly rosy. Bernanke failed to provide hope that the Fed will continue to offer monetary support to the market, sending U.S. stocks modestly lower.
Investors are also digesting indications that China's economy is improving. China's official purchasing managers' index rose to 51 in February from 50.5 the prior month, suggesting that the manufacturing sector is expanding -- albeit slowly.
A separate PMI report from banking company HSBC also showed manufacturing activity edged up last month. But the index reading of 49.6 was just below the 50 threshold for expansion in the sector.
Meanwhile, worries about the European debt crisis continue to loom in the background. European leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit to determine the size of their financial firewall, and to discuss the details of a pact on fiscal discipline.
Euro-area officials tentatively approved a second €130 billion bailout for Greece last week, and the European Central Bank announced Wednesday that it loaned €529.5 billion to European banks through a second long-term refinancing operation.
On the economic front, initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 25 fell 2,000 to 351,000 -- coming in below expectations.
Personal income rose 0.3% in January, while spending edged up 0.2%. Economists were expecting income and spending to have increased by 0.4% each.
The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index is expected to rise to 54.7 for February from 54.1 the prior month. Any reading above 50 signals expansion. Meanwhile, construction spending for January is expected to tick up by 1.0%.
Auto sales results for February are also due throughout the day.
Meanwhile, retailers reported February same-store sales growth that beat analysts' expectations, according to preliminary estimates from Thomson Reuters.
Same-store sales, a key measure of the retail industry, for most of the companies tracked by Reuters rose 4.7% in February, compared with a forecast 3.4% rise.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note fell, bumping yields up to 2.02% from Wednesday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained 58 cents to $107.66 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery eased 70 cents to $1,710.60 U.S. an ounce.
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