The Toronto stock market moved higher Wednesday afternoon as PotashCorp shares ran ahead on expectations of an improved takeover offer and Research In Motion Ltd. shares got a break after losing ground on worries that security concerns could lead to countries banning BlackBerry features.
The S&P TSX Composite Index finished the day ahead 52.44 points to 11,781.08
Shares in PotashCorp, which is the sixth most heavily-weighted company on the TSX, ran up another 3.3%, or $4.87, to $152.21 as Australian resource giant BHP Billiton said it would take its $38.6-billion U.S. takeover offer for the Saskatchewan fertilizer company directly to shareholders.
Shares in Potash rocketed 26% Tuesday as it rejected the unsolicited offer of $130 U.S. a share, calling it grossly inadequate.
Research In Motion was ahead 28 cents at $52.18. The company’s stock had tumbled 12.4% since last Wednesday as India and the United Arab Emirates threatened to ban key BlackBerry features over security concerns unless the Waterloo, Ont.,-based company agreed to concessions on access to user data.
The base metals sector gained with September copper in New York ahead one cent at $3.35 U.S. a pound. The gain added to Tuesday’s 4.5% rise, which reflected hopes for other merger and acquisition deals in the resource group. Taseko Mines rose 16 cents to $4.75 while Sherritt International gained 39 cents, or nearly 6%, to $6.91.
Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold Corp. climbed 70 cents to $46.58.
The TSX energy sector lost ground after the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories rose sharply -- by 5.87 million barrels -- last week against market expectations for a drop in supplies.
Canadian Natural Resources fell 44 cents to $34.30.
In other corporate news, shares in Manulife Financial Corp. fell six cents to $12.60 after the insurance giant said it plans to issue nearly $900 million in unsecured senior notes just weeks after it posted a $2.4-billion loss in its second quarter. Spokesman David Paterson says the company is "taking advantage of low interest rates to improve its debt rates while it can."
CoolBrands International Inc. says it has reached an agreement to merge with American hygiene and sanitation solutions company Swisher International Inc. in a share-swap transaction worth $102.9 million.
Once the transaction is completed, CoolBrands shareholders will own about 52% of Swisher, with the remainder in the hands of other investors. CoolBrands shares gained 10 cents to $1.88.
The Canadian dollar improved 0.31 cents to 97.15 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups closed in the green. Materials soared 1.9%, while gold shone 1.3% brighter and telecoms beamed 0.9% higher.
The three laggards were health-care stocks, down 0.8%, while energy and global base metals stumbled 0.7% each.
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher by 6.37 points to 1,469.97, while the Nasdaq Canada index grew 3.75 points to 604.16
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks enjoyed a second consecutive day of gains Wednesday -- albeit barely -- turning the market around from about a week's worth of losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day ahead 9.69 points to 10,415.54
The S&P 500 index nosed up 1.62 points to 1,094.16. The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index gained 6.26 points to 2,215.70
Wednesday's gains build on Wall Street's strong advance the day before. But with no major economic releases on tap Wednesday, the market was having trouble finding direction as stocks jumped around throughout the day.
Some experts also noted that traders will be closely watching the bond market, which has surged recently as investors opt for safe-haven trades such as U.S. Treasurys during economic uncertainty. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note reached a 17-month low Monday, before bonds slightly reversed course during the stock market's rallies Tuesday and Wednesday.
Energy companies Chevron and Exxon Mobil dragged on the Dow's gains. Their stocks initially fell more than 1% after the government announced both crude and gasoline inventories were at unusually high levels for August, but then pared back some of those losses in afternoon trading.
Speculators are concerned that demand for fuel is not keeping up with growing U.S. stockpiles.
Deere posted better-than-expected profit and revenue for its third fiscal quarter, but the farm-equipment maker's earnings forecast for the current quarter of $375 million U.S. is below the $385 million U.S. analysts were looking for. Shares of Deere fell 1.5% in afternoon trading.
Discount retailer Target reported a profit that rose 14% from a year earlier and was in line with expectations, but the company missed revenue forecasts. After falling earlier in the session, shares of Target rose 2.7% in afternoon trading.
Treasury prices eased, raising yields for the benchmark 10-year note back to Tuesday’s 2.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil eased 46 cents to $75.31 U.S.
Gold prices moved into the green by three dollars to $1,231 U.S. an ounce.
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