The Toronto stock market registered a solid advance as resource stocks rebounded Tuesday morning after a string of losses amid a drop in commodity prices to multi-month lows and global economic uncertainty.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 118.74 points, or 1.1%, to break for lunch at 11,454.51
The Canadian dollar sidled back 0.17 of a cent to 96.05 cents U.S. as the bank kept the door open for future rate hikes.
The energy sector was up as Suncor Energy ahead 62 cents to $28.33.
The base metals sector was ahead while copper prices shook off early losses and were unchanged at $3.31 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources climbed 94 cents to $31.43 and Ivanhoe Mines climbed 38 cents to $10.06.
The resource sectors have racked up the steepest losses on the TSX, which is down more than 11% from its 2012 highs from late February.
The financial sector was up with TD Bank ahead $1.34 to $77.84.
Utilities were also higher as TransCanada Corp. said it has been chosen by Shell Canada Ltd. to build, own and operate a $4-billion natural gas pipeline in British Columbia. The Calgary-based company said the pipeline will transport natural gas from the Montney region in eastern British Columbia to a liquefied natural gas export facility near Kitimat, B.C. Its shares gained 24 cents to $42.39.
The gold sector was flat as Iamgold Corp. gained eight cents to $12.22.
In other corporate news, Canadian Pacific Railway has elected Paul Haggis as chairman of the company's board of directors. New York-based Pershing Square Capital Management succeeded in May in its months-long battle to oust now former CEO Fred Green, a 34-year veteran of the railroad. CP shares rose 15 cents to $73.10.
Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. says its passenger traffic was up 7.2% from May 2011, while fleet capacity and yield also improved. WestJet's chief executive, Gregg Saretsky, says bookings are also showing continued strength ahead of the busy summer travel season and its shares gained 40 cents to $15.40.
Westport Innovations Inc. has teamed up with global giant Caterpillar Inc. to co-develop natural gas technology to fuel off-road heavy equipment that typically use diesel. Caterpillar will fund the development program and Westport, a Vancouver-based specialist in engine technology, expects to supply key components for products developed under the initiative. Westport shares jumped $4.14 or 17.88% to $27.29.
Belden Inc.has made a friendly takeover offer for Montreal-based Miranda Technologies Inc., which makes high-performance hardware and software for the television industry. Belden's offer of $17 per share cash values Miranda at about $371.5 million. Miranda's share price jumped 62% to $16.87
Finance ministers and central bank governors from seven of the world's most industrialized powers are grappling with Europe's shaky economic situation and were to hold a conference call Tuesday to discuss a response.
Traders also took in a widely-expected announcement from the Bank of Canada that it was leaving its key interest rate unchanged at one per cent because of a worsening economic environment.
In its accompanying statement, Canada's central bank said "to the extent that the economic expansion continues and the current excess supply in the economy is gradually absorbed, some modest withdrawal of the present considerable monetary policy stimulus may become appropriate."
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the value of building permits fell 5.2% to $6.5 billion in April, ending a win streak at two straight months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.86 points to 1,285.41. The Nasdaq Canada index tacked on 4.91 points to 352.17
All 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green at noon, led by energy issues, up 1.7%, health-care stocks, gaining 1.4%, and financials, gaining 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks flipped between small gains and losses as investors welcome an upbeat U.S. economic report, but remain anxious about Europe's ongoing dept problems.
The Dow Jones Industrials settled 16.27 points to greet noon at 12,085.19
The S&P 500 was 0.07 points higher at 1,278.25. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.79 points to 2,758.22
A better-than-expected reading of the Institute for Supply Management Services index gave markets a brief lift.
U.S. financial stocks were among the biggest gainers on the news in mid-morning trading Tuesday. Shares of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley were all up between 2% and 4%.
But ongoing concerns about Europe's debt problems kept markets under pressure, as the Spanish banking system teeters on the edge of collapse and Greece comes closer to a possible exit from the euro.
Shares of Starbucks fell a day after the company announced plans to buy a bakery chain. News of an impending business initiative sent shares higher at the close on Monday, but the acquisition itself was not enough to keep investors' interest.
Facebook shares moved higher Tuesday, but still remain nearly 30% below the IPO price of $38 U.S. per share. Reports Monday that Facebook is looking at ways to allow children younger than 13 to use the site is prompting new criticism of the social networking company.
Netflix shares edged higher after announcing late Monday that it would start its own content delivery network to provide its streaming service to customers. Shares of Akami, a tech company that currently provides some of that service to Netflix, slid in early trading.
Shares of Research in Motion rebounded slightly Tuesday. The BlackBerry maker closed below $10 U.S. a piece on Monday -- the lowest level since December 2003.
Spain's Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro told a Spanish radio network early Tuesday that the country has been nearly shut out of global finance markets, and that the country’s banking system would need help from other European countries.
Yields on Spain's 10-year bond jumped as high as 6.5% before pulling back.
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's said Monday that there is a one-in-three chance Greece will leave the euro currency union in the coming months.
Finance officials of the world's seven largest economies, the G-7, are reportedly holding an emergency call Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
Economically speaking, the ISM's services index for May rose to 53.7, surprising economists who had forecast the index to fall slightly to 53.1 from April's 53.5. Any reading above 50 still indicated growth in the service sector, which makes up the majority of the U.S. economy.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained back some ground, lowering yields back to Monday’s 1.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil stepped back 14 cents Tuesday to $83.85 U.S.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $4.50 to $1,618.40 U.S. an ounce.
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