The Toronto stock market was higher Friday while oil prices slid on concerns that a massive earthquake will slow the Japanese economy and that the Chinese government will take further steps to battle high inflation.
The S&P/TSX composite index had turned positive 39.40 points near the close to 13,677.98
The Canadian dollar regained 0.3 of a cent to 102.8 cents U.S.
The prospect of falling oil demand from Japan, also the world’s third-largest oil consumer, sent crude prices down sharply, as did the failure of anticipated protests in Saudi Arabia to draw large crowds.
Suncor Energy was ahead 72 cents at $42.38 while Cenovus Energy was off 42 cents at $34.86.
Copper prices recovered from early declines, with the May contract up one cent at $4.21 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector also shook off early losses to rise almost two per cent. Teck Resources rose $1.15 to $50.83 while Quadra FNX Mining climbed 53 cents to $13.28.
Copper has plunged about 6% since mid-February as worries about higher energy prices have raised concerns about demand.
Even with Friday’s decline, crude oil is still up more than 10% from the middle of last month on worries that fighting in Libya could spread to big oil producers in the Persian Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia.
Commodities had also been under pressure after data showed Chinese inflation remained elevated in February at 4.9%, exceeding analysts’ forecasts and above the government’s 4% target for the year. Food price inflation unexpectedly accelerated to 11% from January’s 10.3% rate.
The concern is that China will have to take further steps to slow its economy to deal with inflation.
Gold stocks also advanced as Barrick Gold Corp. gained 71 cents to $49.84 while Kinross Gold Corp. ran ahead 36 cents to $14.97.
Financials were mixed with Royal Bank ahead 60 cents to $60 but insurers lost ground following the Japanese quake. Manulife Financial was down 14 cents at $17.41 while Sun Life Financial gave back 23 cents to $30.32 .
In corporate news, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. had $104.7 million U.S. of net income in the fourth quarter, or 35 cents per share, with $515.9 million U.S. of revenue. The oil and gas company also declared a dividend of 9.3 cents U.S. per common share. But its stock was down $2.71 at $28.69 as earnings missed analyst expectations by six cents a share.
Cascades Inc. shares rose 59 cents to $7.28 as the company said it is selling its Dopaco paper cup business for $400 million U.S. cash to Reynolds Group Holdings Ltd., a global supplier of consumer food and beverage packaging headquartered in Auckland, N.Z.
On the domestic economic ledger, Statistics Canada reported that employment edged up in February, but by only 15,000 jobs, and while the figure brought total gains over the past three months to 115,000, it was not enough to budge the unemployment rate from its current 7.8%.
Experts were calling for job growth of 25,000, following on the hike of more than 69,000 in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 22.7 points to 2,262.32, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved up 6.96 points to 788.76
In Toronto, all but three of the 14 subgroups had gone higher by the close. Metals and mining rallied 2%, while global base metals picked up 1.8%, and gold shone 1.3% brighter.
Telecoms and consumer staples were off 0.7% each, while consumer discretionaries were down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks headed higher Friday afternoon, despite news of a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan that have added to concerns over conflict in North Africa and the Middle East.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 62.17 points near the close to 12,046.80, with 3M, Caterpillar and Exxon Mobil up almost 2%. Shares of General Electric Alcoa and Chevron were also big gainers.
The S & P 500 was up 9.35 points to 1,304.46, with energy companies Tesoro Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. leading the advance. Shares of both companies were up more than 7%.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index recovered 14.58 to 2,715.60, by gains in Amgen Inc. Vartex Pharmaceuticals and Netflix.
An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan on Friday, triggering massive tsunamis that swept across towns apparently killing hundreds, according to the Kyodo News Agency. The tsunami was followed by powerful aftershocks that were felt in Tokyo.
The quake prompted the United States to issue tsunami warnings for Hawaii and the West Coast. Nineteen other countries in the Pacific also issued warnings.
The Japanese disaster had an impact on stateside insurance companies such as Aflac, which experienced a stock drop of 1.5%. About 75% of Aflac's revenue comes from Japan.
Other insurance companies, including Aspen Insurance Holdings, Everest Reinsurance Group, XL Group and Hartford Financial Services, were also down in Friday's session.
Shares of Valero Energy Corp. jumped almost 6%, after the company said it has agreed to buy a Chevron refinery in Wales, for $730 million U.S. Valero is paying an addition $1 billion U.S. to Chevron for inventory and other items.
On the economic front, retail sales rose 1% in February, matching expectations from a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Excluding automobile sales, retail sales rose 0.7%, only slightly higher than the projected increase of 0.6%.
The government revised its retail sales figures for January, to an increase of 0.7%, compared to the previously reported increase of 0.3%. Ex-auto sales rose 0.6% in January, compared to the previously reported increase of 0.3%.
The University of Michigan's March reading on consumer sentiment fell to 68.2, from 77.5 the previous month.
The Commerce Department said business inventories rose 0.9% in January, which was slightly better than economists expected.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury returned to yesterday’s levels, bringing yields back to Thursday’s 3.39%.
Oil for February delivery declined $1.84 to $100.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $9.30 to $1,421.80 U.S. an ounce, recovering from an earlier slump.
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