Toronto's main stock index held most of its gains for the day to bring to a close a very strong week fueled by rising commodity prices as gold is merely a whisper from $1,400 per ounce and oil tops $87 per barrel.
The S&P/TSX Composite closed trading up by 46.32 points, or .36%, to 12,925.11.
The price of oil for December delivery is up; gaining .72% to $87.11.
Gold for December delivery is green at the moment; up $10.30 at $1,393.00.
The Canadian Dollar is up against the US Dollar at the moment; ahead by .00229 of a cent to .9996 U.S. cents.
ON THE DATA FRONT --
Data released this morning showed a job gains of 3,000 in Canada during October, which was well short of the 15,000 economists expected.
Other Canadian economic news included a 15.3% rise in the value of building permits in September, which significantly topped economists’ expectations of gains of just 2.5%.
CLOSING NEWS --
With the New Year approaching quickly, a time in which energy trusts will no longer enjoy the tax breaks that they have for many years, energy trusts are lining up to convert themselves into corporations. In October, seven energy trusts announced they were making the switch. Provident Energy, a company that announced on October 6th that it is converting to a corporation, announced today that its $900 million in combined tax pools will allow the company to offset material cash taxes until 2014. Shares of T.PVE.UN closed up 1.65% to $8.00.
Mining sector strong -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. had a solid day today. Shares of T.FM closed up 3.32% to $95.36.
Fins win -- Banks advanced today in Canadian trading, helped by the biggest bank, Royal Bank of Canada (T.RY), which gained .58% to $55.31. Toronto-Dominion Bank (T.TD) gained .82% to $74.94, while the Bank of Montreal (T.BMO) moved forward by .68% to $60.65. Not to be left out, the Bank of Nova Scotia (T.BNS) saw share prices rise by .07% to $54.54.
Dell, Inc. announced that it will be having its 25,000 employee Blackberry’s replace with its own device. Shares of Research in Mothion (T.RIM) lost 2.59% to close at $55.65.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
Canada's mining sector is leading the subindices this afternoon fueled in part by strong performances from Teck Resources and Lundin Mining Corp. Shares of T.TCK.B are trading up 3.49% to $49.97 while shares of T.LUN have advanced 1.95% to $6.80.
Potash is regaining some of the losses from recently. Shares of T.POT are trading up .64% to $142.33.
On the flip side, shares of Research in Motion are leading the laggards as shares of T.RIM are trading down 3.22% to $55.29.
MORNING NEWS --
Shares of Telus Corp are trading north of yesterday’s close as the Company reported that earnings were down 12% for the third quarter, which beat analyst expectations. Shares of T.TO are trading up $1.00 to $45.41.
Shares of Magna International, Inc. are on the climb today after the auto parts company raised its forecast and announced better than expected earnings. In addition, Magna announced a raise in dividend, stock buyback program and stock split. Shares of T.MG are up 6.92% to $100.09.
Shares of Manulife are still running today after beating estimates yesterday with smaller than expected losses. Shares of T. MFC are trading up 4.82% to $14.79 this morning.
ON BAYSTREET
Nine of the TSX Subgroups closed in the green today. Metals and mining shares closed up by 2.10%, followed by base metals; up 1.49% and consumer discretionary issues, which finished up 1.39%.
On the downside -- Info tech closed down by .57%, followed by consumer staples; down .55% and then industrials; down .27%.
The TSX Venture Exchange closed up by 14.46 points to 2,008.92, while the Nasdaq Canada index finished in the red; down by 10.53 points to 702.80.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks on Wall Street put on a late rally to end the day slightly ahead, but the week with strong gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up by 9.24 points, or .08% to 11,444.08. The S&P 500 finished up by 4.79 points, or .39%, to 1,225.85. The NASDAQ closed in the green as well; up 1.64 points, or .06%, to 2,578.98.
The US Dollar is up against the euro by .0177 and gaining ground against the yen; up .5400.
Oil futures for December delivery are up by $.62 to $87.11.
The 10-year bond yield is up .0430 to 2.5270%.
IN DATA NEWS --
The National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales fell 1.8% in September. The association’s pending home sales index fell to 80.9 from a slightly upwardly revised 82.4 in August. During September, pending home sales fell in three of four regions: the Midwest dropped by 5.7%; the South by 1.7%; and the Midwest fell by 3.5%. The West was the only region to show an increase; up by 3.5%.
The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls climbed by a greater than expected 151,000 in October as private-sector employers added 159,000 jobs. Economists had expected a rise of only 60,000. The September number was revised to show payrolls fell by 41,000, less than an original estimate of a 95,000 decline.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained high 9.6% in October. Approximately 14.8 million people actively looking for work cannot find employment. The jobless rate has been above 9.0% since May 2009, right before the recession technically ended. Economists were spot on with estimates as they had expected the rate to remain at 9.6% for October.
CLOSING NEWS --
Just hours after the Qantas chief executive defended the Australian airline’s safety and maintenance policies, a second Qantas Airways jet made an emergency landing because of an engine blowout. This time a Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet headed to Sydney from Singapore experienced problems. Passengers stated that one of the four engines caught fire, which forced the pilots to dump the planes fuel before the emergency landing. No one was injured.
Gainers --
Boston Beer Co. Inc. beat estimates with its quarterly earnings which sent shares higher. Shares of SAM closed strong; up 11.25% to $81.96.
Shares of Fresh Market Inc. launched after the food-store chain raised $190 million in its initial public offering. Shares of TFM closed up 45.95% to $32.11.
Semiconductor manufacturer, International Rectifier Corp., was another company that saw its share price advance after reporting a quarterly profit that exceeded expectations. Shares of IRF closed up by 10.53% to $27.50.
Fins Win in the States Too -- Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) finished up by 6.41% to $29.22, U.S. Bancorp (USB) was up 3.74% to $26.10 and and the Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK) closed the day up 6.30% to $28.17.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
Harrah's Entertainment Inc. announced today that the IPO for Caesars Entertainment Group (to be listed as ''CZR'' on the Nasdaq) will see shares priced in the $15 to $17 range. The casino operator plans to offer about 31.3 million shares with an additional 4.7 million to underwriters to cover overallotments.
Shares of TTM Technologies Inc. are climbing quickly today after reporting late yesterday third quarter profits of $29.1 million, or $.36 a share, compared with a loss of nearly $5 million, or $.11 a share, for the same quarter in 2009. Shares of TTMI are up 22.37% to $13.95.
Computer chip for home appliance maker, Atmel Corp., is seeing its shares rise after it reported third-quarter sales that topped Wall Street’s expectations. Shares of ATML are trading up 13.66% to $10.15.
Bebe Stores Inc. shares are well ahead of yesterday's close after the women’s clothing retailer reported first-quarter financial results late yesterday. Shares of BEBE are trading up 13.16% to $6.88.
Leader of the Laggards -- DexCom Inc. is watching its share price fall after the developer of medical devices reported a larger third-quarter loss than analysts had expected. Shares of DXCM are trading down 21.64% to $10.90.
AT THE OPEN --
American International Group Inc. reported that it posted a third-quarter net loss of $2.4 billion, or $17.62 a share, as compared to earning $455 million, or $.68 a share in the same quarter of 2009 after taking several large charges totaling $4.5 billion as a result of restructuring. Shares of AIG are have rallied of the day’s lows, but are still trading down .09% to $44.70.
Beazer Homes USA Inc. announced that it turned to a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $59.4 million, or $.81 a share, from a profit of $33.8 million, or $.84 a share, a year earlier quarter. Revenue for the quarter fell 25% to $274.8 million. Expectations were for a loss of $.48 a share on revenue of $244.5 million. Shares of BZH are trading up 4.16% to $4.51.
Shares of Universal Electronics Inc. are surging this morning after the remote-control maker said it bought China’s Enson Assets Ltd. for $110 million. Shares of UEIC are trading up 29.12% at $27.43.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals raised its 2010 financial forecast. Shares of JAZZ are trading up 10.08% to $13.65.
Shares of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. are pacing laggards as the restaurant chain suspended its 2010 forecast. Shares of RRGB are down 13.15% to $17.60.
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