Stocks on Bay Street swung higher Friday -- as traders took in a better-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter forcast from Research in Motion and news that President Bush would give a $13.4 billion federal loan to the Big Three automakers.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 126.65 points to 8,552.
Canadian auto parts companies enjoyed a lift in the wake of the Bush announcement about the auto industry bailout. Magna International, Canada's largest parts maker, gained 80 cents to $36.24.
Research In Motion Ltd. shares were up $6.59 to $53.32 after the BlackBerry maker posted a 66 percent surge in revenues last quarter after a shacky start to its rollout of new products. Revenues surged to US$2.78 billion in the third quarter, from US$1.67 billion a year earlier.
Petro-Canada was up 15 cents to $27.05 after a tentative settlement to end 13-month-old lockout at its Montreal oil refinery, which has been kept running by managers.
Shares in TSX heavyweight Potash Corp. fell $1.34 to $88.66 after the fertilizer giant's management lowered its 2008 earnings guidance due to softness in demand for crop nutrients amid the slowing global economy. It now expects to earn $10.75 per share for the year, down from an earlier expectation of $12 to $13 per share.
On the data front -- Statistics Canada says the national inflation rate dropped to two percent last month, from 2.6 percent in October, as gasoline price were down 14.4 percent.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, fell 0.62 cents to 82.45 cents US.
BAYSTREET
Eleven of the TSX sub-groups traded higher today -- tech stocks were up 5.00 percent followed by a 4.98 percent rise in real-estate issues and a 3.99 percent gain in mining stocks.
Gold gave up $1 to settle at $838.70 US an ounce.
On the downside -- industrial stocks were off 0.51 percent and health-care stocks slipped 0.26 percent.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange was off 1.41 points to 699.04 and the NASDAQ Canada was up 34.80 points at 439.71.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks ended mixed Friday, after a short-lived rally in the morning, as investors weighed the pros and cons of the Bush Administration's plan to bail out the auto industry.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which earlier rose more than 180 points, ended down 25.8 points, or 0.3 percent, at 8579.19. However, the S&P 500was edged up 2.32 points, or 0.3 percent, at 887.60, and the Nasdaq added 11.95 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1564.32.
Leading headlines Friday, President Bush said the U.S. government will extend $13.4 billion in loans to automakers General Motors and Chrysler in December and January through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), with another $4 billion available in February. The troubled companies have been charged with the task of showing financial viability by the end of March.
General Electric had its outlook reduced to ''negative'' by Standard & Poor's, Reuters reported. The downgrade indicates there is at least a 33% chance the firm will lose its ''AAA'' credit rating before 2011.
Panasonic plans to acquire Sanyo for $9 billion, the target firm said. The companies said the merger would provide synergistic opportunities in their solar and mobile energy businesses and that it would strengthen the financial standings of the component companies.
Oracle posted a decline in second-quarter new sales and predicted sales could fall as much as 10 percent in the current quarter. That guidance was in line with analysts' estimates, which have been reduced as a result of the recession.
Prices for U.S. Treasury bonds fell after a big rally in the previous sessions.
The benchmark 10-year note fell 15/32 to 114 15/32 and its yield rose to 2.12 percent from a historic low of 2.07 percent Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. The 30-year long bond retreated 29/32 to 140 3/32, with a yield of 2.55 percent.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $2.35 to settle at $33.87 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The January contract, which expires Friday, dropped nearly $4 to settle below $37 a barrel in the previous session as traders rolled into new contracts and economic concerns weighed on the market.
Crude for February delivery rose 58 cents to $42.25 US a barrel.
Related Stories
