Canadian stocks remained in the green in afternoon deals on Thursday, following strength seen in the U.S. and Europe. Traders mulled over an assortment of earnings news, as well as better-than-expected economic data from the U.S.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished ahead 109.50 points or a full percentage point to 11,180.70.
Telecom stocks gained, as Telus added 2.8% to $33.95 and BCE was up 2.6% to $26.46 to lead the sector higher.
In corporate news, Dorel Industries surged 10.4% to $32.80 after the company reported third-quarter net income of $30.2 million U.S. or $0.91 U.S. per share compared to $27.2 million U.S. or $0.82 U.S. per share in the year-ago quarter.
Fortis gained 1.6% to $25.81 after the company posted third-quarter net earnings of $36 million or $0.21 per share, compared to $49 million or $0.31 per share in the same quarter last year.
Sun Life Financial dropped 6.5% to $28.16 after the company reported a third-quarter net loss of $140 million, compared to a net loss of $396 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Manulife Financial lost 3.6% to $19.86 after the company reported third-quarter net loss of $172 million, compared to net income of $510 million last year.
Goldcorp reported third-quarter net income for the third quarter was $114.2 million U.S. or $0.16 U.S. per share, down from $297.2 million U.S. or $0.42 U.S. per share for the year-ago quarter. The stock was up 1.3% to $43.18.
Aurizon Mines Ltd. added 1.5% to $4.90 after the company said its third-quarter net income rose to $8.2 million from $7.1 million in the prior-year period.
Canadian Natural Resources lost 1.3% to $67.71 after the company reported third-quarter net earnings were $658 million or $1.21 per share, much lower than prior year's $2.84 billion or $5.25 per share.
Agrium gained 4% to $53.27 after the company announced that it is increasing its exchange offer to acquire CF Industries Holdings to $92.99 per CF share.
Industrial-Alliance Insurance dropped 0.7% to $30.25 after the shares were downgraded to "neutral" from "outperform" at Credit Suisse.
Roctest Ltd soared 25.2% to $1.74 after the company posted third-quarter net earnings of $400,000 or $0.07 per share, compared to $150,000 or $0.03 per share in the last-year quarter.
In economic news, Statistics Canada reported building permits increased 1.6% to $5.1 billion in September, beating expectations for an 1.3% rise but slower than the 7.38% jump seen in August.
The Canadian dollar was flat at 93.80 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All 14 TSX subgroups ended the day in the black, led by a 2.4% surge by global base metals, while telecoms were next best at 1.6% and metals and mining stocks were 1.3% better.
The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 0.20 points to 1,331.55, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 4.47 points to 634.30.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rallied Thursday, with the Dow industrials topping 10,000, after the government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims, and a number of retailers reported improved October sales.
The Dow Jones Industrials surged 203.82 points, or 2.1%, to 10,005.96. The S&P 500 index gained 20.13 points to 1,066.63, while the Nasdaq composite index jumped 49.80 points to 2,105.32.
Both the Dow and Nasdaq saw the biggest one-day percentage gains since July 23.
Stocks have been volatile over the past three weeks, with the S&P 500 losing 5% through Wednesday's close on worries that the rally has gotten ahead of the recovery. Between March 9 and the peak on Oct. 19, the S&P 500 gained 63%.
Stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at historic lows near zero -- and said it will keep them low for an extended period.
The issue for markets is whether there have been enough positive developments of late to give stocks another leg up, one expert said. He said he thinks that the next leg up could be delayed, and that stocks are likely to churn in a range for the next six months or so.
After that point, investors will have a better sense of how the economy is doing without the benefit of trillions of dollars in government stimulus, which many credit for the 3.5% rise in GDP in the third quarter.
Gains were broad-based, with all 30 Dow issues rising, led by Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Procter & Gamble, 3M, United Technologies and Wal-Mart Stores.
Shoppers remained cautious with their spending last month, with discounters and warehouse clubs seeing the best October retail sales.
On the upside, Costco said sales at stores open a year or more rose 5% during the month, topping forecasts for a rise of 4.7%.
Gap reported sales rose a better-than-expected 4%, sending shares higher in morning trading.
On the downside, American Eagle Outfitters said sales fell 5% versus forecasts for a rise of 1.7%. Shares fell over 11% in active New York Stock Exchange trading.
After the close Wednesday, Cisco Systems reported weaker quarterly earnings and revenue that beat estimates.
The company's CEO, John Chambers, said current-quarter revenue would top estimates and that business conditions had bottomed at least six months ago. Cisco shares gained 2% Thursday.
Automaker Toyota reported a surprise quarterly profit Thursday and cut its annual loss forecast by over 50%
Shares of CVS Caremark slumped 21% in active trading after the company warned that 2010 profits at Caremark, its pharmacy benefits management division, are likely to slump by 10% to 12%. The company also said Caremark's CEO is stepping down. Drugstore CVS bought Caremark in March 2007
On the economic front, the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits declined more than expected last week. Initial claims fell 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
That could soothe investors who are anxiously awaiting Friday's all-important monthly employment report for October. Economists are currently expecting the economy to have lost another 175,000 jobs during the month, which could push the nation's unemployment rate to 10%, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Treasury prices gained ground, lowering the yields for the benchmark 10-year note to 3.52% from Wednesday’s 3.53%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil lost 78 cents to $79.63 U.S.
Gold prices gained two dollars to $1,090 U.S. an ounce.
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