The Toronto stock market enjoyed a strong advance Thursday morning following a news conference by the president of the European Central Bank.
Mario Draghi laid out details of a bond buying program that would help alleviate higher borrowing costs that have squeezed the most vulnerable members of the euro-zone, including Spain and Italy.
The S&P/TSX Composite index moved up 47.09 points to begin trading Thursday at 12,097.61
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.48 cents to 101.46 cents U.S.
Among Canadian stocks to watch this morning, Descartes Systems Group Inc, which develops software for companies to manage their inventories and truck fleets, reported a 4% fall in quarterly profit on acquisition related costs.
Harry Winston Diamond Corp reported a 52% drop in its quarterly profit late on Wednesday, largely due to declines in rough diamond prices and a decrease in the volume of carats sold.
Natural gas whiz Encana Corp said on Wednesday an internal investigation has determined that it did not collude with Chesapeake Energy Corp to lower the price of land acquisitions in Michigan two years ago.
China's state-owned oil company CNOOC has formally asked the U.S. government to review its $15.1 billion takeover bid for Nexen Inc., for any national security concerns
Packaging and paper products giant Cascades Inc. will be closing its Lachute folding carton plant in Quebec by the end of the first quarter of 2013 affecting 155 employees.
Energy services company ShawCor Ltd. said its controlling shareholder and chair of its board of directors, Virginia Shaw, may sell her shares as part of a sale of the company.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.38 points to 1,255.65.
All 14 Toronto subgroups rose at the start of Thursday’s session, led by energy and metals and mining stocks, each up 1.9%, while global base metals advanced 1.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened sharply higher Thursday, as the investors welcomed better-than-expected reports on the U.S. labour market and the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan.
The Dow Jones industrial average sprinted ahead 192.78 points, or 1.5%, to begin the session at 13,240.30
The S&P 500 index regained 18.77 points, or 1.3%, to 1,422.21, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was higher by 47.09 points, or 1.5%, to 3,116.35
Corporate results are due after the bell Thursday from apparel company Quiksilver and gunmaker Smith & Wesson
Amazon is expected to unveil a new Kindle line Thursday afternoon. Last week the company reported that its Kindle Fire had sold out.
Shares of Walgreen were lower after the company reported disappointing August sales.
Speaking after a meeting of top ECB officials in Frankfurt, the central bank's president, Mario Draghi, reiterated his pledge to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro and said the ECB is prepared to make "outright monetary transactions," or OMTs, in the secondary market for euro area government bonds.
The move is aimed at Spain and Italy, which struggled with unsustainable borrowing costs earlier this year.
I nvestors hope Thursday's data is a preview of what the U.S. employment picture looks like ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.
The U.S. government is expected to report Friday that employers added 120,000 jobs in August, according to economists. Investors will be paying especially close attention to Friday 's jobs report, since it will likely influence the Federal Reserve's decision on whether it will announce more quantitative easing at the conclusion of its next meeting on Sept. 12-13.
Economically speaking, employment in the U.S. non-farm private business sector increased by 201,000 from July to August, according to ADP's National Employment Report. The estimated gain from June to July was revised up, from the initial estimate of 163,000 to a revised estimate of 173,000.
The numbers blew past expectations, as economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast an increase of 143,000 jobs.
Another upbeat report showed that jobless claims decreased to 365,000 during the week ending September 1, down 12,000 from the previous week's revised 377,000 figure, according to the Labor Department. This is less than the 373,000 claims that were expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
These jobs numbers follow a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed more than 32,000 planned job cuts in August -- fewer layoffs than were announced in July.
Also this morning, the Institute for Supply Management will release the August edition of its service-sector index, which is expected to stand at 52.4, down from 52.6 in the month prior.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 1.66% from Wednesday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices for September delivery vaulted $1.74 to $97.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained $17.50 to $1,713.80 U.S. an ounce.
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