Resource shares pushed the Toronto stock market higher Wednesday while banks moved lower amid uncertainty about Ireland’s discussions with the European Union about a bailout plan.
The S&P TSX Composite Index gained 55.60 points on the day to close at 12,657.83.
The Canadian dollar faded against the U.S. dollar, down less than a 10th of a cent to 97.52 cents U.S. as traders continued to watch developments in Europe’s government debt crisis.
The base metals sector gained ground as copper prices gained two cents to $3.75 U.S. a pound.
The metal’s price had plunged as much as nine per cent in the past week amid a stronger American dollar and concerns about what steps China could take to slow its economy after inflation hit a 25-month high in October.
Western Canadian Coal jumped 39 cents to $7.38 while Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. rose 34 cents to $12.61.
Teck Resources Ltd. shares moved up 53 cents to $48.69 as it said it will boost its dividend to 30 cents per share, an increase of 50%.
Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold Corp. gained 44 cents to $50.43 while Kinross Gold Corp. rose seven cents to $17.87.
Brazilian resource company EBX says it plans an all-cash offer to buy out other shareholders of Ventana Gold Corp. in a transaction that values the Canadian mining company at $1.5 billion.
Ventana acknowledged it had received the offer but said it was reviewing the bid and advised shareholders they didn’t need to take any action at this time. Ventana shares gained $3.87 to $13.90 on the market.
Suncor Energy faded eight cents to $33.59 while Cenovus Energy declined 19 cents to $28.82.
In the financial field, Royal Bank inched ahead four cents to $52.80 and National Bank shed 19 cents to $64.90.
Investors had been hoping that a meeting of finance ministers from the 16-country eurozone on Tuesday would end with an agreement on a bailout package for Ireland’s troubled banks.
But the meeting ended late Tuesday without any deal, although European Union officials said they have "intensified" preparations for potential support for the country’s banking sector.
Concerns that Ireland will be unable to pay the cost of rescuing its banks, which ran into trouble when the country’s real-estate boom collapsed, has worsened Europe’s government debt crisis.
Metro Inc. says both its profits and sales were stronger in its fiscal fourth quarter even as price deflation cut into results. Earnings increased 10.7% to $93.4 million while sales rose 1.1% to $2.56 billion. Its shares declined 23 cents to $46.00.
Loblaw Co. shares gained 11 cents to $42.26 as it reported that third-quarter profit rose nearly 13% to $213 million, or 76 cents per share, up from $189 million or 69 cents a year earlier. Sales increased 1.3% to $9.6 billion.
Elsewhere, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. has announced plans for a $2-billion U.S. share buy-back. Its shares were up 93 cents to $139.15.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that in September, 692,700 people received regular Employment Insurance benefits, an increase of 2.2% from August.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX/Venture Exchange moved ahead 31.12 points to 1,953.99, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched up 0.22 points to 693.85.
In Toronto, all but one of the 14 subgroups gained ground, led by metals and mining, ahead 1.1%, followed by materials, up 0.9% and gold, adding 0.8%. Only a 1.2% loss by information technology spoiled the party.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, equities ended mixed Wednesday after trading in a narrow range for most of the day as investors weighed inflation and housing reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials settled back 15.62 points to close at 11,007.90
The S&P 500 tacked on 0.25 points to 1,178.59. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index prospered 6.17 points to 2,476.01.
Home Depot and Hewlett Packard were the biggest losers on the Dow. But Caterpillar, McDonald's and Travelers all bucked the trend.
The mixed performance came after government reports showed consumer prices held near historic lows in October, while new home construction was weaker than expected in the month.
Some traders said the inflation data mean the Federal Reserve has additional leeway to support the economy and asset prices. But others worry that inflation is too low, and that the central bank's actions could drive prices higher as money flows into commodities markets.
Shares of NetApp were halted late Wednesday after parts of its quarterly report were leaked.
The data storage company said it earned 52 cents U.S. per share in its second quarter on sales of $1.2 billion U.S. Analysts had expected earnings of 49 cents and sales of $1.19 billion U.S., according to Thomson Financial.
But NetApp offered a sales outlook that fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company forecasts revenues in the range of $1.24 billion and $1.29 billion U.S. in the current quarter, compared with analysts' expectations of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion U.S.
Discount retailer Target reported a third-quarter, earnings per share increase of 28.5%, to 74 cents U.S. per share from 58 cents U.S. per share in the same period a year earlier. Shares of Target shares rose 3.3%.
After the closing bell, Applied Materials will report third-quarter earnings. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect earnings per share of 31 cents U.S.
General Motors' IPO size was increased Wednesday to 478 million shares of common stock, bringing the total it could raise from its offering to nearly $20 billion U.S. The offering is expected to price later in the day.
Economically speaking, the Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation, increased 1.2% over the past 12 months ending in October, the government said.
After stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI rose 0.6% on an annual basis -- the smallest annual price increase since the government started recording the data in 1957.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.2% in October. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected a 0.3% uptick. The increase was largely due to an increase in energy prices, the report said. Core CPI was flat on a monthly basis, slightly lower than economists' forecasts for a 0.1% increase.
Another government report showed that housing starts fell 11.7% to an annual rate of 519,000 units in October. That was lower than expected. Housing starts were forecast rose to a 600,000 rate in October.
Building permits, considered a leading indicator of construction activity, reached an annual rate of 550,000 units in October. This was less than the projected rate of 570,000, but more than September's annual rate of 547,000
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury inched up, pushing the yield down to 2.81% from 2.85% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil faded in price $1.98 a barrel to $80.36 U.S. The price of an ounce of gold nipped up 24 cents to $1,335.49 U.S.
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