The Toronto stock market gained solidly Wednesday amid further indications of a strengthening U.S. housing sector, as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve will be keeping its economic stimulus program alive for a while yet.
The S&P/TSX composite index rallied 71.95 points to end Wednesday at 12,732.39
The Canadian dollar was up 0.26 at 97.75 cents U.S.
Railway stocks help push the industrial sector up with Canadian Pacific Railway ahead $3.85, or 3.2%, to $124.58.
The telecom sector was up as Telus Corp. rose $1.40 to $70.62.
The energy sector was ahead as Canadian Natural Resources gained 55 cents to $30.98.
The base metals sector was ahead while May copper was down two cents at $3.57 U.S. a pound. Thompson Creek Metals declined gained 30 cents to $3.67.
Sherritt International lost 35 cents, or 6.1%, to $5.35 as the miner reported Wednesday that it had a $17.3-million net loss, or six cents per share, in the fourth quarter. After adjusting to remove certain items, Sherritt had $6.2 million of net earnings or three cents per share, double what analysts expected.
Sherritt also announced Tuesday it has increased its quarterly dividend to 4.3 cents per share, up from 3.8 cents per share.
The gold sector fell as Goldcorp Inc. ditched 54 cents to $33.90.
In earnings news, traders also focused on news from the retail sector.
Sears Canada Inc. reported it had $39.9 million of net earnings in the fourth quarter or 39 cents per share, little changed from the year-earlier period.
However, revenue and same-store sales declined during the important holiday shopping period as total revenue fell to just under $1.3 billion, down about $60 million from a year earlier and its shares gave back 45 cents to hit a fresh 52-week low of $8.85.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 0.79 points to 1,131.12
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, led by telecoms and industrials, each ahead 1.2%, while metals and mining stocks vaulted 1%.
The two laggards were gold, 2.1% less lustrous, and materials, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
A rally on Wall Street gained momentum late Wednesday as investors welcomed more upbeat housing data and a second day of dovish testimony from the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed higher 175.24 points, or 1.3%, to 14,075.40, a new five-year high for the blue chips.
The S&P 500 index added 19.08 points to 1,516.02. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite prospered 32.61 points to 3,162.26
Traders said the rally was a continuation of Tuesday's advance, which came after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled to lawmakers that the central bank's easy money policies would remain in force. Bernanke reiterated his argument Wednesday that the Fed's bond-buying program has helped the economy.
Homebuilder stocks rallied Wednesday, with shares of Hovnanian jumping 3%, leading rivals Toll Brothers, DR Horton and Lennar
Meanwhile, investors were keeping tabs on Apple's annual shareholders meeting.
Apple shareholders did not vote on a controversial proposal that would have limited the company's ability to issue preferred stock.
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn had launched an activist campaign to unlock some of Apple's $137-billion U.S. cash hoard. Apple will put that to a vote at a later date.
Shares of Priceline rose after the online travel site beat profit forecasts.
First Solar shares sank after the renewable energy firm missed sales forecasts.
Shares of Dollar Tree jumped after the discount retailer said it earned $1.01 U.S. per share on sales of $2.25 billion U.S. in the fourth quarter.
Gun maker Sturm Ruger will report results after the closing bell, along with Groupon and J.C. Penney, among others.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Census Bureau said durable goods orders dropped $11.8 billion, or 5.2%, in January. This was a steeper decline that the decrease of 3.5% projected by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The Dreamliner issues with Boeing and the drying up of defense spending appear to have played a role. Excluding transportation, new orders would have increased 1.9%.
Pending home sales, which reflects the number of contract signings, rose 4.5% in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the highest reading since April 2010, when pending home sales jumped ahead of the expiration of a popular tax credit for home buyers.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 1.90% from Tuesday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 26 cents to $92.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $20.90 to $1,594.70 U.S. an ounce.
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