The Toronto stock market was solidly in the green Thursday amid corporate deal-making and some positive American employment news.
The S&P/TSX composite index greeted noon Thursday ahead 64.46 points to 12,822.27.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.06 cents at 95.22 cents U.S.
U.S. private equity firm Directional Aviation Capital is buying Bombardier's Flexjet fractional business aircraft ownership service for $185 million U.S. The new owners are also ordering up to 245 Bombardier aircraft in a deal whose value could reach about $5.2 billion U.S.
Bombardier was ahead 10 cents to $4.82.
The energy sector gained as Suncor Energy was ahead 22 cents to $36.05.
A jump in U.S. auto sales helped brighten the outlook for oil consumption. General Motors and other U.S. carmakers posted strong sales in August, giving the auto industry its best month in six years.
The Federal Reserve also said Wednesday that surveys showed moderate growth throughout the country.
Other commodities were lower as December copper dropped a penny to $3.23 U.S. a pound. The base metals sector rose and Turquoise Hill Resources was eight cents higher at $5.45.
Gold stocks were the biggest TSX weight, as Goldcorp was down 38 cents to $31.12.
A U.S. hedge fund is making a renewed call for changes at Barrick Gold, calling for the breakup of the company and the addition of a mining engineer and geologist to its board.
Mike Morris, principal and founder of Two Fish Management, says that there is no compelling reason for Barrick to own a worldwide conglomerate of gold mines. Barrick edged 30 cents lower to $20.10.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, BlackBerry was up 31 cents to $11.59 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the smartphone maker had narrowed the list of possible bidders for all or part of the company, and hopes to wrap up the auction by November.
U.S. forestry giant Louisiana-Pacific Corp. plans to buy Vancouver-based Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. for $1.1 billion U.S. Louisiana-Pacific will pay $3.76 per share. Ainsworth shares jumped 95 cents, or 32%, to $3.89.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched back 1.65 points to 945.53
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by noon ET, led by information technology stocks, gaining 1.7%, while financials prospered 1.2%, and energy issues progressed 0.9%.
The three laggards were gold, down 2.6%, materials, off 1.5%, and telecoms, sliding 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
After a two-day rally, U.S. stocks continued to move higher Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained positive 11.46 points at lunch hour at 14,942.30
The S&P 500 index picked up 4.01 points to 1,657.09. The NASDAQ gained 8.72 points to 3,657.76
The major stock indexes have added more than 1% during the first three trading days of the month so far. That's helping to erase some of the losses from a brutal August for stocks. But 2013 has still been a solid year for investors. All three indexes are up between 14% and 21% year-to-date.
Shares in LinkedIn moved up, after falling Wednesday on concerns that a new billion-dollar-plus offering would dilute existing shareholders. The company sold more than $1.2 billion U.S. in stock in a secondary offering Wednesday night.
The company's shares are up more than 100% this year.
Shares of Netflix rose after analysts at RBC upgraded their price target for the company. Netflix's stock is nearing its all-time highs from 2011.
Shares of Groupon soared after Morgan Stanley upgraded the online coupon company.
J.C. Penney shares continued to move higher, after soaring Wednesday on news that two major hedge funds added stakes in the troubled retailer.
On the economic front, investors had two bits of labour market data to chew on.
The jobs numbers released by payroll processing firm ADP showed hiring continuing at a modest pace.
The U.S. Labor Department's initial jobless claims figures also pointed to a steady recovery in the job market, with fewer people filing for unemployment.
But Friday is the big day for the markets. The U.S. government releases the August jobs report. Economists believe that 185,000 jobs were added last month and that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.3%.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.98% from Wednesday’s 2.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $1.07 to $108.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices turned south $20.70 to $1,369.30 U.S. an ounce.
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