The Toronto stock market was firmly in the green Thursday, a day after markets responded enthusiastically to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to modestly cut back on a key stimulus program. The Fed also emphasized that short-term rates aren't going up any time soon.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 57.47 points to end Thursday at 13,392.20, on top of a 150-point-plus hike Wednesday
The Canadian dollar gained 0.30 cents to 93.77 cents U.S.
On Thursday, Barrick Gold fell 40 cents to $17.68 and Goldcorp faded 36 cents to $22.24.
Elsewhere on commodity markets, the base metals component moved higher even as March copper slipped two cents to $3.30 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources climbed 92 cents to $25.66.
The energy sector gained ground as Canadian Natural Resources was ahead 60 cents at $35.02.
Tech stocks also lifted the TSX with CGI Group ahead 94 cents to $37.99. BlackBerry rose 20 cents to $6.67 a day before the smartphone maker releases its latest earnings.
Financials advanced with Manulife Financial ahead 52 cents to $20.75.
A major decliner was auto parts company Martinrea International, which warned that fourth-quarter net earnings will likely fall short of previous guidance.
Its stock fell $1.94, or 20.6%, to $7.48
A report from a federal review panel on Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline through B.C. will be released Thursday following more than a year of hearings. The final decision on whether the pipeline can go ahead rests with the federal government. Enbridge gained 48 cents to $45.33.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the number of regular recipients of employment insurance was little changed in October at 510,500. Compared with 12 months earlier, though, the number of beneficiaries fell 8.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 3.60 points to 887.58
In all, nine of the 14 TSX subgroups were in positive country, most notably metals & mining issues, up 2.8%, information technology, ahead 1.3%, global base metals, gaining 1%.
The five laggards were weighed down by gold, down 1.9%, telecoms, off 0.8%, utilities, sliding o.4%
ON WALLSTREET
After ending at record closing highs the previous day, the Dow and the S&P 500 finished the day mostly unchanged. The NASDAQ slipped slightly.
The Dow Jones Industrials notched higher 11.11 points to finish Thursday at 16,179.08, after Wednesday’s near-300-point gain.
The S&P 500 index docked 1.05 points to 1,809.60. The NASDAQ was down 11.92 points to 4,058.14
Gold prices tumbled more than 3% and traders blamed the Fed's taper decision. Prices fell below $1,200 U.S. an ounce for the first time in over three years. The Gold ETF and gold miners including Newmont Mining were taking a hit.
In corporate news, Darden Restaurants missed on earnings. The company also announced plans to spin off the Red Lobster chain, which experienced a slump in sales.
Target shares fell more than 2% after the retailer said that as many as 40 million people who shopped at Target stores in the three weeks after Thanksgiving may be affected by a breach of credit and debit card data.
Facebook fell after the social media company filed to sell 70 million shares, mostly to index funds that will be buying the stock once it is added to the S&P 500. That includes more than 41 million shares from co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Despite Wednesday's big gains, December has so far been a dud for the stock market. All three indexes are flat for the month. But a so-called Santa Claus rally still has time to transpire, especially now that investors have a lot more clarity from the Fed.
But even without any huge gains, 2013 has been a stellar year for stocks. The Dow and S&P 500 are up more than 20% for the year, while the NASDAQ has gained more than 30%.
Those gains put the Dow on track for its best year since 2003 and the S&P 500 on pace for its best year since 1998. The NASDAQ's gains would be the index's best since 2009.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries faded, hiking yields to 2.92% from Wednesday’s 2.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 83 cents to $98.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $35.70 to $1,199.40 U.S. an ounce.
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