Rising energy stocks helped push the Toronto stock market modestly higher mid-afternoon Monday while investors looked to a heavy slate of earnings results from most of the big Canadian banks.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 21.36 points to finish the day at 14,227.08
The financial sector was in the red, with National Bank up 11 cents to $43.61 as the Montreal-based bank prepared to kick off the earnings rundown after the market close.
All the big banks registered record annual profits last year but analysts believe this year will be more challenging amid a fading housing market.
The energy group gained as Imperial Oil popped 55 cents to $49.20
The tech sector was up with BlackBerry up 70 cents, or 6.9%, to $10.87 amid an unconfirmed report from Bloomberg that automaker Ford will base its next-generation Sync system on the smartphone maker's QNX and no longer use Microsoft's Windows.
Ford has been struggling with in-car technology flaws and has more than seven million vehicles on the road with Sync using Microsoft voice-activated software.
The gold sector gained while Barrick Gold taking on 23 cents to $23.52, and Goldcorp dipped 12 cents to $30.55
The base metals segment declined as copper prices fell four cents to $3.25 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources fell 77 cents to $25.00
Economically speaking, data for February showed an improvement in German business morale, which beat market expectations and hit its strongest level since July 2011.
Closer to home, Statistics Canada will release growth data for December and the fourth quarter on Friday. Economists looked for the economy to contract by 0.3% in December, largely because of crippling ice storms in Ontario and Quebec towards the end of the month. Growth for the quarter is reckoned to come in at 2.5%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange backtracked 2.71 points to 1,018.95.
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with industrials leading the former camp, up 0.9%, while energy and consumer staples each improved 0.8%.
The seven losing subgroups were weighed mostly by global base metals, dipping 1.1%, while metals and mining stepped back 1% and health-care demurred 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
After rising to an all-time high earlier Monday, the S&P 500 closed just shy of a record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 103.84 points to close Monday at 16,207.14
The S&P 500 index added 11.36 points to 1,847.61. The NASDAQ gained 29.56 points to 4,292.97
Stocks have bounced back from a rough January, when investors were rattled by turmoil in emerging markets. The S&P 500, which fell 3% in January, is now flat for the year.
Activist investor Carl Icahn blasted eBay CEO John Donahoe for failing to address "blatant" conflicts of interest involving two members of the company's board, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Scott Cook.
Icahn, who owns a "significant position" in eBay stock, has proposed separating the company's traditional online auction business from its PayPal payment processing business.
eBay shot back, issuing a statement denouncing Icahn's "mudslinging attacks" on its directors.
Shares of eBay were up just the same.
Comcast said Sunday that it will allow Netflix to connect directly to its broadband network, allowing for faster streaming. Netflix is expected to pay Comcast for the access, yet it's unclear how the added expense may impact subscription fees.
HSBC shares slid after the bank reported earnings that came in below expectations.
Blackberry shares rose on rumours that it could replace Microsoft to power Ford's future generation cars with smartphone technology.
Investors have been encouraged by corporate profits that beat analysts' expectations. According to FactSet Research, 72% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings for the fourth quarter that topped analysts' expectations.
Investors welcomed comments from global finance officials, who emphasized stimulating economic growth over austerity.
The G20 -- the world's 19 richest nations and the European Union -- pledged to install policies that will add $2 trillion U.S. to the world economy over the next five years. The group committed to "significantly raise global growth," according to a statement following a weekend meeting in Australia.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries slid slightly, lifting yields to 2.75% from Friday’s 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained 42 cents to $102.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $12.90 to $1,336.50 U.S. an ounce.
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