The Toronto stock market was higher Tuesday amid weaker than expected U.S. jobs data that suggested the Federal Reserve likely is in no rush to start winding up a key element of economic stimulus.
The S&P/TSX composite index 73.82 points to greet noon at 13,260.35
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.18 cents to 97.24 cents U.S.
In Canada, traders will take in earnings after the close from Canadian National Railways. Canadian Pacific Railway reports on Wednesday and both are expected to show rising revenues from greater shipments of crude oil. CN was ahead a dime to $110 and CP dipped eight cents to $134.16.
Absolute Software Corp. is raising its quarterly dividend to six cents per share, a 20% increase, starting with the next payout to shareholders in November. The company provides software for tracking and managing computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Its shares were up four cents to $7.53.
In other corporate news, a U.S. regulatory filing says Saks Inc. has agreed in principle to settle suits filed by some of its shareholders, who objected to the U.S. retailer's agreement to a $2.9-billion U.S. friendly takeover by Hudson's Bay Co.
Saks has agreed to make additional disclosures to shareholders before the shareholder vote and HBC has agreed to accept less time for matching a rival offer and a smaller termination fee if the original deal doesn't close as expected. Hudson's Bay shares gained five cents to $18.50.
The tech sector declined with CGI Group down $1.29 to $35.46.
On the economic stage, Statistics Canada said retail sales edged up 0.2% to $40.2 billion in August. The market call was for a rise of 0.3%.
Higher sales at food and beverage stores were partially offset by weaker sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations. Gains were reported in six of 11 subsectors, representing 56% of total retail trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.02 points to 963.92
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by midday, led by gold, up 4.1%, while metals and mining advanced 2.6%, and materials increased 2.3%.
The two laggards were information technology, down 0.3%, and energy, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The September jobs report wasn't great, but stocks rose Tuesday as investors anticipated that lackluster hiring will push the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep its monetary stimulus as is in the months ahead.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained positive 44.75 points by noon ET – off its highs of the morning -- to 15,437
The S&P 500 index gained 8.42 points to 1,753.08. The NASDAQ saw its gains fade to 2.95 points to 3,923.
After surging to an all-time high in early trading, Netflix reported strong quarterly earnings and a rosy outlook late Monday. Shares initially surged to an all-time high in early trading, but quickly fell into the red.
Netflix shares have been on a tear all year, up 270% so far. But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said he isn't comfortable with the huge run-up. On a post-earnings conference call with analysts, he said Netflix thinks "momentum investors" are "driving the price more than we like normally" -- but that it's out of the company's control.
Others suggested that investors who have profited from Netflix's significant advance may be starting to take money off the table to rake in some profit, including billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Delta shares also jumped after the airline reported quarterly profit growth.
DuPont reported slightly better quarterly earnings, boosted by a lower tax rate and growth in its electronics and communications business.
Coach posted earnings and sales that missed forecasts, led by a drop in domestic sales. The one bright spot was China, where sales jumped 35%.
Lockheed Martin shares rose after the aircraft manufacturer reported a jump in quarterly profit, year over year, and increased its full-year outlook. The good news came despite the government shutdown, which led Lockheed and other defense contractors to furlough some workers.
Whirlpool shares rallied after the home appliance giant reported a third-quarter profit that doubled from a year ago and boosted its outlook for the year.
Apple will be in the spotlight in the afternoon, when it hosts an event at which it is expected to unveil a new version of the iPad.
Nokia, which is selling its device business to Microsoft, unveiled its first full-size tablet and a pair of big-screen colorful Lumia smartphones earlier Tuesday.
Shares of Nokia were also up after Dan Loeb said his hedge fund Third Point purchased a stake in Nokia during the third quarter. In a letter to clients, Loeb said he made the purchase after the sale to Microsoft was announced.
The jobs report, which was delayed more than two weeks because of the government shutdown, showed the economy gained just 148,000 jobs last month. But the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.2%, the lowest in nearly five years
Still, the numbers suggest that the U.S. economic recovery remains fragile and that the Fed will likely keep buying $85 billion U.S. in bonds each month for a bit longer.
The Fed has repeatedly said it wants to see more improvement in the job market before it decides to begin scaling back, or tapering, its bond buying program.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury zoomed higher, lowering yields to 2.52% from Monday’s 2.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 75 cents to $98.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $25.10 to $1,340.90 U.S. an ounce.
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