Stocks on Bay Street traded higher Tuesday -- as gains in real-estate and telecom shares offset declines gold stocks amid sinking gold prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 142.20 points to 8,779.49.
In corporate news -- Allen-Vanguard Corp. tumbled after the maker of blast suits and roadside bomb disablers reported a net loss of $436.3 million for its latest financial year, largely because of a writedown of goodwill of $380 million. It also announced a new deal with lenders.
Biovail Corp. is recalling an unspecified amount of its Ultram extended-release pain medication, citing a ''minor'' variance in the rate at which the pills dissolve. It said there is no safety or retail supply problem.
On the data front -- The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence index plunged to 38 in December, an all-time low, as the recession and stock market meltdown took its toll on sentiment. Confidence stood at a reading of 44.7 in November. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected confidence to improve modestly to 45.5.
The Chicago PMI, a regional reading on manufacturing, was little changed in December from November's recessionary levels. PMI rose to 34.1 from 33.8, versus forecasts for it to drop to 33.
Also -- home prices in the US posted another record decline in October, falling 18 percent compared with a year earlier, according to a closely watched report released Tuesday.
Sunbelt cities suffered the most, but most of the country is watching home values fall. In Phoenix prices have plunged 32.7 percent since October 2007, Las Vegas home values are down 31.7 percent year-over-year.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, traded 0.22 cents lower at 81.85 cents US.
BAYSTREET
Eleven of the TSX sub-groups traded higher this afternoon -- real-estate stocks gained 3.78 percent followed by a 3.14 percent rise in telecom issues and a 3.05 percent climb in consumer discretionary stocks.
On the downside -- gold stocks were off 3.47 percent.
Gold was recently down $3.20 at $872.10 US an ounce.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange was up 5.58 points to 752.57 and the NASDAQ Canada was ahead 2.43 points at 414.37.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose Tuesday after the government expanded its bailout plans for General Motors Corp., which in turn said it will offer more financing options to lure consumers back into dealers' showrooms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 86 points at 8569, and the S&P 500 was gaining 10 points at 879.7. The Nasdaq was up 21 points at 1531.
The auto industry and its impact on the economy were again in focus. GMAC, the lending arm of GM, said it will restart auto financing for more U.S. customers because it has better access to funding after converting to a bank-holding company.
Further priming the pump, GMAC said late Monday that it's receiving $5 billion from the government in exchange for preferred stock. GM could also get up to another $1 billion from the Treasury Department so it can take part in a deal to help GMAC raise more capital.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were recently falling. The 10-year note was giving up 9.5/32 to yield 2.1 percent, and the 30-year was recently flat, yielding 2.6 percent. The American dollar was weaker against the euro, and stronger against the pound and yen.
Crude-oil prices declined after jumping back above $40 on Monday. Crude for February delivery lost $1.12, or 2.8 percent, to $38.90 a barrel.
Related Stories
