The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday afternoon as U.S. data showed the economy steadily recovering, which took some of the sting from another failure by euro-zone leaders to agree on a vital batch of bailout money for Greece.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed higher by 53.78 points Wednesday to 12,100.06
The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 to 100.34 cents U.S.
Tech stocks advanced while Research In Motion Ltd. rose 51 cents to $10.21 while MacDonald Dettwiler & Assoc. ran ahead 82 cents to $53.99.
The gold sector was ahead while Centerra Gold advanced 50 cents to $9.67 while Barrick Gold Corp. climbed 38 cents to $34.63.
The financials group was ahead as Bank of Montreal was up 45 cents to $58.95 and Manulife Financial rose 21 cents to $12.36.
The energy sector was slightly higher as Cenovus Energy gained 51 cents to $33.13.
Western Canada oil companies Pinecrest Energy Inc. and Spartan Oil Corp. say they plan to form a single company with a combined enterprise value approaching $1 billion. Pinecrest’s existing executive team, led by Wade Becker, will manage the new entity. Pinecrest shares slipped five cents to $1.82 while Spartan shares were 28 cents lower to $4.84.
The base metals sector declined as December copper edged two cents lower to $3.50 U.S. a pound. Turquoise Hill Resources fell 34 cents to $7.12 while Rio Alto Mining dropped 16 cents to $5.03.
No major Canadian economic data was released Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained only 0.36 points to close at 1,242.66
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher on the day. Information technology stocks zoomed 1.7%, while gold gained 1.2% and materials were 0.7% stronger.
The three laggards were metals and mining, down 0.5%, while health-care and global base metals were off 0.2% each.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed out a quiet pre-Thanksgiving trading day higher as investors focused on positive U.S. economic numbers instead of renewed questions over Greece's solvency.
The Dow Jones Industrials grew 48.38 points to 12,836.90
The S&P 500 moved 3.22 points higher to 1,391.03, and the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 9.87 points to 2,926.55.
Trading volume was light ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and a short trading day Friday.
In corporate news, Deere dipped 4% after the equipment maker released quarterly results. Shares of jewelry maker Zale dropped nearly 30% after the company reported a steep quarterly loss. Publisher Scholastic stock dropped nearly 18% after it lowered its forecasts for next year.
Salesforce.com's stock fared much better, closing up 9%, after the cloud computing company reported earnings that beat forecasts.
YY, the first Chinese IPO since April, jumped 8% in its debut on Nasdaq.
U.S. stocks ended flat Tuesday, amid a sharp selloff in Hewlett-Packard shares after the company reported a massive loss. HP's shares rose 2% Wednesday.
Internationally, European finance ministers failed to finalize the details of a debt-reduction package for Greece before the close of their meeting Wednesday.
The inability of finance ministers to reach a deal over Greece has reignited worries about European sovereign debt, but European stocks also held up Wednesday.
Economically speaking, new U.S. jobless claims totaled 410,000 last week, impacted by storm conditions in the Northeast, but better than the 423,000 analysts had predicted.
The U.S. Conference Board said the leading economic index, a gauge of future economic activity, rose 0.2% in October after increasing a downwardly revised 0.5%.
The latest reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index showed it inching up in November to the best reading in over five years because of rising optimism about the jobs markets.
The index gained slightly to a reading of 82.7, off from the original estimation of 84.9.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell a bit, lifting yields to 1.69% from Tuesday’s 1.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked 94 cents to $87.69 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $5.80 an ounce to $1,729.40 U.S.
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