Stocks on Baystreet closed higher Tuesday amid record gold prices and better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data.
The S&P TSX Composite Index was up 43.12 points at 12,192.98 -- with a total of 970 advancers and 613 decliners.
Gold stocks jumped as the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged $24.60 to close at an all-time high of $1,271.70 US an ounce. The value of gold increased as the greenback declined against other currencies.
Among the winners -- Barrick Gold Corp. gained $1.01 or 2.2% to $46.41.
Down south -- the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.4% in August. Economists had forecast sales would rise 0.3%. The increase follows a 0.3% climb in July, revised down from the initial estimate of 0.4%.
Business inventories in the U.S positively surprised, climbing 1% in July from the previous month and 2.4% year-over-year, the Commerce Department said. That was more than the 0.7% climb analysts expected and was the biggest gain in two years.
In Canada -- new vehicle sales in July increased by 2.4% from the month before, to 135,514 units, with stronger truck sales contributing most to the boost, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Sales of trucks -- including minivans, vans, buses and light and heavy trucks -- jumped by 3.1% to 76,994 units in July, which was the fourth consecutive monthly increase, the federal agency reported.
On the corporate front -- discount retailer Dollarama Inc. (DOL) said its Q2 profit was down due to the impact of foreign exchange but operating profit and overall sales were up from the same time last year. Profit was just under $21-million or 28 cents per diluted share, down from $26.6-million or 61 cents per share.
Also -- Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. reported net income of $3.3 million in its first quarter of fiscal 2011, more than double its year-ago profit of $1.6 million. Shares in the gold miner gained 32 cents or 4% to $8.29.
Shares in DiagnoCure Inc., a diagnostic test and laboratory services provider, fell 8 cents or 6.8% to $1.10 after the Quebec-based company booked a loss of $1.7 million in the May-to-July period, shrinking a year-earlier loss of $4 million. Revenue fell 10%.
Montreal coffee services company Van Houtte is being sold to Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. for $915 million.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile edged down 0.08 of a cent to 97.34 cents US.
ON BAYSTREET
Nine of the TSX subgroups traded in the green today. Gold stocks were ahead 3.30%, Material issues were up 1.97% and real-estate stocks climbed 0.61%.
On the downside -- Financial stocks fell the most, losing 0.33%, while energy stocks were off 0.32% and healthcare issues shed 0.12%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 16.63 points, at 1,622.20, while the Nasdaq Canada index was 9.41 points higher to 584.89.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks finished mostly lower on Tuesday, ending a four-session winning streak, as investors mulled recent gains in light of mixed economic reports, including better-than-expected U.S. retail sales and a disappointing survey in Germany.
After running more than 40 points higher at its peak for the day, the Dow sold off in the last hour and closed down almost 18 points, or 0.2%, at 10,526. The S&P 500 came impressively close to being flat, falling less than a point to finish at 1,121, while the Nasdaq managed a gain of 4 points to 2,290.
Breadth for the Dow was mixed with 16 of the blue-chip index's 30 components finishing lower.
European markets were trading mixed on Tuesday after rallying on Monday. The industrial production of the 16 nations that use the euro as a currency was flat in August, lower than the 0.2% increase predicted, acting as further confirmation that growth in the region was slowing. Investor confidence in Germany sunk to a 19-month low of minus 4.3 in September, much below the forecast of 10, according to the ZEW Center for Economic Research.
Best Buy(BBY) reported a 62% increase in second-quarter per-share earnings to 60 cents, above the 46 cents analysts were expecting. It also raised its fiscal-year outlook by 10 cents to $3.55 to $3.70 a share.
In other earning news -- Kroger (KR) rose after it said its profit rose 2.8% to $261.6 million, or 41 cents a share. Revenue grew 6% to $18.79 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 36 cents a share on revenue of $18.73 billion.
On the corporate front -- American International Group (AIG) is in talks with the U.S. government to speed up an exit plan designed to repay U.S. taxpayers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
MedAssets (MDAS) has agreed to buy health care supply chain management provider Broadlane Group for $850 million in cash.
Bank of America(BAC) may look to sell billions of dollars worth of assets, the Financial Times reports.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was up by 22/32, diluting the yield to 2.666%.
Crude oil for October delivery cooled off to trade 40 cents lower at $76.79 a barrel.
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