The Toronto stock market remained strong as higher commodity prices and health-care stocks led broad gains.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 29.65 points to greet noon Tuesday at 12,343.19, off its highs of the day.
The Canadian dollar nipped up 0.15 cents Tuesday noon to 102.36 cents U.S.
Health-care shares led the parade, with stocks like Catamaran gaining 2.3% to $97.25, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals up 2.2% to $54.94.
Gold issues also prospered, with Avion Gold hurtling 3.9% to 80 cents.
A lawyer for Enbridge Inc. said on Monday that a prominent economist opposed to its Northern Gateway oil pipeline to Canada's West Coast is wrong in her contention that the project will raise costs for refiners, regardless of where their crude comes from. Enbridge shares gained 30 cents midday to $38.45.
Coal miner Forbes & Manhattan Coal Corp. said on Monday it plans to acquire two South African coal mines from a unit of Rio Tinto in a bid to boost its output and enlarge its footprint in Africa. Forbes shares gained four cents, or 6.2%, to 69 cents.
Integrated oil whiz Husky Energy Inc. declared on Monday it had reached an impasse with the United Steelworkers union in a four-month strike at the company's 155,000-barrel-per-day Lima, Ohio, refinery. Husky shares rallied 12 cents to $26.72.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that retail sales rose 0.7% in July, more than offsetting a decline in June. Gains were reported in eight of StatsCan’s 11 sub-sectors.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deducted 6.44 points to 1,327.09
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, 10 remained higher by lunch time. Health-care stocks soared 1.1%, while gold moved 0.8% higher and materials improved 0.6%.
The four laggards were led by global base metals, off 0.3%, while consumer discretionaries and energy stocks each sifted off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following positive reports on the U.S. housing market and consumer confidence, but worries about global economic growth kept the gains in check.
The Dow Jones Industrial average was higher by 26.63 points to 13,585.50
The S&P 500 index added 3.70 points, to 1,460.59, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7.23 points to 3,168.01
A gloomy outlook from Caterpillar tempered the mood on Wall Street. Shares of the construction and mining equipment maker slid, making it the worst performer on the Dow, after it cut its forecast for 2015.
Speaking at an industry conference in Las Vegas on Monday, Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman said that the economic slowdown has been sharper than the company was anticipating, and modest growth over the next few years will affect the company's profitability.
Shares of Tesla sank Tuesday, after the electric car maker said production of its new Model S sedan will be slower than anticipated. The company said it has completed 255 Model S cars as of this past Sunday.
Payroll company Paychex's shares slipped after it posted strong first-quarter earnings.
Shares of tech company Red Hat fell following an earnings report that fell short of expectations.
Google shares rose to fresh all-time highs Tuesday. Google's stock has rallied 16% this year as the company continues to dominate in online searches and makes strides with its Android mobile platform.
Facebook edged up slightly, following Monday's 9% plunge in the wake of a $15 U.S. price call for Facebook by Barron's.
Investors will be keeping tabs on Europe's ongoing debt crisis as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde warned Monday that the continent's policymakers need to implement a centralized banking authority and carry through with the European Stability Mechanism, a planned €500-billion fund to provide loans for troubled members of the 17-nation currency union.
Economically speaking, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed home prices in 20 major U.S. cities rose for a sixth consecutive month, as the long-battered real estate market continues to recover.
Moreover, consumer confidence in the U.S. rose to a seven-month high in September. The Conference Board’s index increased to 70.3 this month from 61.3 in August, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today.
The September figure exceeded the most optimistic projection of economists, whose median estimate in a Bloomberg survey called for 63.1.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost the ground it gained, raising yields back to Monday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for November delivery rose 88 cents to $92.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery added $11 to $1,775.60 U.S. an ounce.
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