The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday as equities continued to find favour amid expectations that central banks will come out with new measures to support economic growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 65.12 points to end Wednesday at 11,913.87
The Canadian dollar shaved off 0.08 cents to 98.71 cents U.S.
The TSX has surged almost 400 points over the last two sessions to a two-month high amid growing expectations that policymakers will use fiscal and monetary stimulus to bolster flagging growth.
The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday as equities continued to find favour amid expectations that central banks will come out with new measures to support economic growth.
Lift on the Toronto market was supplied by a rise in the consumer discretionary sector, led by gains in auto parts companies following the release of strong U.S. auto sales data on Tuesday. Magna International gained $2.29, or 5.7%, to $42.30 and Martinrea International was up 29 cents, or 3.5%, at $8.55.
Financials also advanced with Royal Bank ahead 50 cents to $53.59 and Manulife Financial up seven cents at $11.43.
Commodity prices were lower in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange following significant increases over the previous three sessions.
The metals and mining sector was up as the September copper contract dipped three cents to $3.51 U.S. a pound — still up over 5% since last Thursday. Teck Resources advanced 26 cents to $33.03 while HudBay Minerals rose 20 cents to $8.41.
The energy sector was flat and Cenovus Energy gained 18 cents to $34.15.
Among gold plays, Barrick Gold Corp. was down 72 cents at $38.78 after the Canadian mining giant suffered a legal reversal that may affect development of the company’s Pascua Lama project on the border between Argentina and Chile.
On the corporate front, The Maple Group Acquisition Corp. says the Ontario Securities Commission has approved final recognition orders with respect to a proposed acquisition of TMX Group.
The orders provide the terms under which the OSC will permit Maple to operate a combined exchange and clearing group involving the TMX, Alpha Trading Systems Inc. and the Canadian Depository for Securities Ltd. TMX shares gained $1.60, or 3.4%, to $48.45.
Trican Well Service Ltd. shares fell 96 cents, or 7.9%, to $11.26 after the company warned that it expects to post a loss of between 32 and 42 cents per share in the second quarter — much worse than analysts had been anticipating.
The Calgary-based company said late Tuesday after the market closed that wet weather in May and June had delayed some projects. It also said pricing will decline in the second half of 2012 due to reduced customer budgets and increased competition in the Canadian market.
Avion Gold Corp. says a stalled expansion at the Tabakoto mine in western Africa will be restarted late this year or early in 2013. The expansion had been put on hold in May due to political unrest in Mali that caused some of Avion’s foreign workers to leave the country. Its shares jumped 10.5 cents, or 23.6%, to 55 cents.
Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited says it has temporarily halted operations in the Schefferville area of Quebec due to a blockade that is affecting access to its mining operations. The company says it believes the blockade was set up by local residents, though it isn’t entirely sure why they’ve done it. Its shares rose five cents to $2.70.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange took on 16.41 points to 1,241.90.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups surged, led by consumer discretionaries, up 1.5%, health-care issues, up 0.8%, and the metals and mining group, ahead 0.7%.
Only gold’s 0.1% loss ruined the party.
ON WALLSTREET
American markets are closed in observance of Independence Day
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