The Toronto stock market was positive midday Thursday, supported by strong earnings reports and dividend hikes by some of Canada’s biggest banks.
The S&P TSX Composite Index gained 67.22 points to greet noon time Thursday at 12,711.23.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.45 cents at 101.49 U.S. cents
TD Bank boosted its dividend nearly 6% to 72 cents while posting lower net income from a year ago. The bank’s first-quarter net income dropped 5% to $1.48 billion, or $1.55 per share.
But its shares rose $1.23 to $82.06 as the bank surpassed analyst expectations with diluted earnings per share of $1.86, or 10 cents above the analysts’ estimates.
Royal Bank of Canada is raising its dividend 6% to 57 cents a share amid a sharp drop in profits that were affected partly by dramatically lower earnings in its capital markets division. Its net income fell 5% to $1.86 billion, or $1.21 per share.
The results beat analyst expectations on a cash diluted basis of $1.25 per share, compared to consensus expectations of $1.13 and its shares gained $1.38 to $57.06.
National Bank also posts results Thursday and its shares added 77 cents to $77.85.
The TSX base metals sector gained ground as commodity prices advanced following good news on China’s economy with the May copper contract up three cents to $3.91 U.S. a pound.
Ivanhoe Mines climbed 48 cents to $17.65.
The energy sector was off a bit as Suncor Energy backed off 29 cents to $35.33.
The gold sector gained as Goldcorp Inc. climbed 75 cents to $48.72.
The tech sector was the leading loser with shares in Research In Motion Ltd. down 48 cents to $13.55 after Jefferies & Co. cut its earnings estimate and said there’s a greater than 50% chance that the maker of BlackBerrys will miss its device sales forecast for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in February.
Another drag on the TSX was Bombardier Inc. The transportation giant posted net income of $214 million U.S. or 12 cents per share for the fourth quarter, down from $295 million or 16 cents per share a year earlier. Quarterly revenues totaled $4.3 billion, compared to $5.6 billion in the previous year. Its shares fell 24 cents to $4.51
George Weston Limited reported that profits fell 1.8% in the fourth quarter to $109 million as it faced various operational costs. Sales grew 3.5% to $7.64 billion. The company expects modest growth in sales in 2012 as it continues to endure higher commodity costs in the first half of the year. Its shares dipped 19 cents to $63.65.
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. The agency’s 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 4.20 points to 1,675.73, while the Nasdaq Canada index poked ahead 0.03 points to 421.40
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by noon, with metals and mining up 1.4%, financials surging 1.3%, and global base metal stocks tacking on 1.2%.
The five laggards were weighed down mostly by information technology, off 0.9%, consumer staples, 0.2% less robust, and energy, 0.1% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rose early Thursday as investors digested mostly positive economic news and monitored testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
The Dow Jones Industrials acquired 39.88 points to pause for lunch at 13,003.20, off its highs for the day.
The S&P 500 added 7.21 points to 1,372.89, while the Nasdaq gained 18.98 points to 2,985.87
The financial sector led the advance, with Bank of America, JPMorgan and American Express among the top performers.
Ford Motor and Chrysler Group reported a big jump in February sales.
Analysts are forecasting the best month for auto sales in four years in February, and the results from Chrysler and Ford are a good start for the industry to hit those targets. Other automakers such as General Motors and Toyota Motor are due to report results later Thursday.
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 forecasted 3.4% rise.
Shares of Wal-Mart gained ground, after the company raised its annual dividend 9% to $1.59 per share.
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.
Stocks opened higher following upbeat reports on initial jobless claims and personal income and spending. But the market pared gains after an index of U.S. manufacturing activity came in weaker than expected.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index was "quite disappointing," according to one expert. But the index still signaled expansion in the sector and other economic indicators Thursday were "consistent with better economic growth," he added.
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, the ISM’s manufacturing index fell 1.7 points to 52.4 in February. The index, based on a survey of purchasing managers, was expected to have risen to 54.7. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.
Separately, construction spending fell 1% in January, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
What’s more, 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.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note fell, boosting yields to 2.06% from Wednesday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained 42 cents to $107.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery eased 70 cents to $1,710.60 U.S. an ounce.
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