The Toronto stock market was slightly higher Thursday as resource stocks rose alongside prices for oil and metals.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Thursday up 21.53 points, to 12,233.95
The Canadian dollar grew 0.3 cents to 102.17 cents U.S.
Among energy issues, Canadian Natural Resources rose 25 cents to $30.05.
Nexen shares climbed seven cents to $25.22 as the federal government extended its review period for the proposed $15.1-billion takeover of the energy company by China’s state-owned offshore oil company. The review under the Investment Canada Act is being extended by 30 days. An initial 45-day review period was set to end Friday.
The base metals sector was up as December copper climbed three cents to $3.75 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources ran ahead 81 cents to $30.71. Thompson Creek Resources skyrocketed 10.6% to $2.72.
The gold sector climbed as Aurizon Mines improved by 13 cents to $4.77.
NovaGold Resources Inc. gained 20 cents to $5.11 as the company reported a third-quarter net loss of $21.5 million or eight cents per share, or less than half of its net loss of $52.1 million or 22 cents per share from a year ago.
Techs also advanced as Research in Motion Ltd. gained 11 cents to $7.72.
Among health-care issues, one of the major movers on the market, Catamaran Corp. gained 1.5% to $49.70.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our merchandise imports fell 3.1% and exports edged down 0.1% in August, meaning Canada's trade deficit with the world narrowed to $1.3 billion in August from $2.5 billion in July.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that its new housing price Index rose 0.2% in August, after a July boost of 0.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 2.21 points to 1,299.94
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, 10 were higher by day’s end, led by global base metals, ahead 1.4%, metals and mining, up 1.3%, and health-care, gaining 1.1%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by utilities, off 0.7%, while consumer discretionaries and industrials slid 0.1% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks pared earlier gains and ended little changed Thursday afternoon, as enthusiasm over upbeat economic data faded.
The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 18.58 points to 13,326.40
The S&P 500 squeezed ahead 0.28 points to 1,432.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 2.37 points to 3,049.42.
Shares of Sprint surged 14%, making it the top gainer in the S&P 500, on news that Japan’s Softbook is nearing a deal to buy a controlling stake in the third largest U.S. carrier for about $12.8 billion U.S.
Softbank's mobile arm had over 30 million subscribers as of August. Sprint's networking partner Clearwire soared over 70% on reports that it may also be taken over as part of the deal.
Earlier this week, there had been speculation that Sprint might make a play for rival MetroPCS. But last week, MetroPCS merged wit
Only a handful of companies reported third-quarter earnings Thursday, including hardware supply store Fastenal and Safeway. Fastenal shares jumped as the company met earnings expectations, while Safeway shares declined after the company posted weak same-store sales.
Shares of Shutterstock jumped more than 27% in their market debut. The online stock photography company also priced its shares above the expected range in its IPO.
Trading is expected to remain choppy for the next month, as investors refrain from making any large bets ahead of the November elections. Investors are also waiting for more clarity emerges on Europe's debt problems, particularly Spain's troubles.
Speaking of things economic, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of jobless claims fell 30,000 to 339,000 last week, hitting the lowest level since February 2008.
Also, the U.S. Census Bureau said the trade deficit fell slightly to $44.2 billion from July to August. The U.S. Labor Department also reported import prices rose 1.1% in September while export prices rose 0.8%.
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury nipped ahead, pushing the yield down to 1.68% from 1.69% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 82 cents to settle at $92.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices rose $5.50 to settle at $1,770.60 U.S. an ounce.
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