The Toronto stock market appeared set to add to Tuesday's surge amid rising commodity prices and hope that European officials will take decisive action to deal with a worsening European debt crisis which has moved to the region's banks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 171.79 points, or 1.5%, to conclude Tuesday’s trading at 11,507.56, coming back from two straight days of losses.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.54 of a cent to 96.88 cents U.S. as traders were willing to take on more risk.
Barrick Gold Corp. says Aaron Regent has been replaced as president and chief executive officer by Jamie Sokalsky, who was the Toronto-based company’s chief financial officer. Barrick stock closed Tuesday at $43.70, down sharply from its 52-week high of $55.36.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.02 points Tuesday to 1,285.57. The Nasdaq Canada index tacked on 8.72 points to 355.98
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks pointed to a higher open as investors await comments from the European Central Bank, and weigh a new proposal for European-wide bank rescues and bailouts.
Futures for the Dow Industrials charged ahead 74 points, or 0.6%, to 12,200, half an hour before the opening bell, while futures for the S&P 500 tacked on 8.9 points to 1,294. Futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq gained 21.5 points, or 0.9%, to 2,510.25.
The E.C.B. left interest rates steady at 1%. The central bank's president, Mario Draghi, will hold a press conference later this morning. Global investors will be listening for comments from the ECB on what additional actions -- if any -- the institution will take to address the continent's debt crisis. The hope is that Draghi will signal that some sort of rescue effort is in the works.
European markets posted strong gains in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, the DAX in Germany gained 1.2% and France's CAC 40 jumped more than 1.7%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.1%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.4% and Japan's Nikkei gained 1.8%.
Oil for July delivery rose $1.27 to $85.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery climbed $20.30 to $1637.20 U.S. an ounce.
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