The Toronto stock market was higher by noon time Friday amid rising commodities, hopes for a strong U.S. holiday retail season and positive economic news from Europe's biggest economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 35.78 points to 12,210.24
The Canadian dollar surged 0.51 cents to 100.80 cents U.S.
Shares in Research In Motion were down 42 cents or 3.5% to $1158. RIM stock spiked 17% Thursday after National Bank Financial analyst Kris Thompson increased his price target for the BlackBerry maker to $15 from $12 U.S.
The mining sector gained as December copper on the Nymex added two cents to $3.51 U.S. a pound. Turquoise Hill Resources gained 13 cents to $7.25 while First Quantum Minerals inched higher four cents to $21.96.
The energy sector was off and Canadian Natural Resources was ahead 46 cents to $28.09 while Talisman Energy advanced 28 cents to $11.53.
The gold sector was up while Centerra Gold improved by 23 cents to $9.93 while Goldcorp Inc. rose 14 cents to $40.91.
Financials also lifted the TSX with Bank of Montreal up 64 cents to $59.18
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that inflation was in the news Friday morning. Consumer prices rose 1.2% in the 12 months to October, matching the increases in August and September.
The nation’s number crunchers also told us that energy prices rose at a slower year-over-year rate in October compared with September, while air transportation, food purchased from stores and property taxes posted larger price gains.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.13 points to 1,254.49
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained positive at noon ET. Gold sprinted ahead 1.1%, while materials gained 0.9%, and global base metals were better by 0.6%.
Information technology stocks proved the lone laggard, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks gained steam Friday, rallying into the close of a post-Thanksgiving shortened trading day.
The Dow Jones Industrials grew 132.46 points, or 1%, to greet noon at 12,969.30
The S&P 500 moved 11.22 points higher to 1,402.25, and the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 35.78 points to 2,962.33. All three indexes are on track to close the week up more than 3%, racking up five straight days of gains.
Investors watched the nation's shopping malls for signs of consumer strength during the holiday shopping season as many Americans spent Black Friday hunting for bargains. Leading retailers Wal-Mart and Target opened at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night, and large crowds were reported at those stores and others.
Shares of Macy's Inc, Wal-Mart and Target were higher Friday, as were the stocks of other prominent retailers such Sears and Best Buy
Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion moved up 11% on the NASDAQ following a report by Canadian brokerage firm National Bank Financial that anticipates sales of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, due to roll out early next year, will be better than expected.
Treasury prices dropped a bit, raising yields to 1.69% from Wednesday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 79 cents to $88.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $21.90 an ounce to $1,750.10 U.S.
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