The main Canadian stock index moved higher Tuesday as the energy and materials sectors benefited from rising commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 38.81 points by Tuesday’s close at 13,425.30
The Canadian dollar slid 0.26 cents to 103.79 cents U.S.
Energy stocks advanced, behind shares of Nexen Inc., which rallied 3.5% to $22.44, and Suncor Energy Inc. gained 0.9% to $38.83
In the materials sector, Kinross Gold Corp. jumped 3.4% to $15.91, while Silver Wheaton Corp. gained 3.5% to $33.19.
Also in the materials sector, Sino-Forest Corp. helped push the sub-index higher. Shares extended gains 29% to trade at $5.29, after adding 28% on Monday.
The recovery comes after U.S.-based money manager Wellington Management Co. said it controlled 28.3 million shares, or 11.5%, of the forestry company. Wellington has almost tripled its position in the company since the end of May.
Sino-Forest was accused of fraudulent accounting practices on June 2 by Muddy Waters LLC, a short-selling research firm. The company has repeatedly denied allegations and has seen its share price drop more than 75% since the report.
Checking Toronto’s gains was the financial index, as Bank of Montreal lost 0.9% to $61.46, and Royal Bank of Canada shed 1.3% to $54.85.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.03 points to 1,931.94, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved forward 4.03 points to 564.06
In Toronto, losing groups outnumbered gainers eight to six. Industrials and financials lost 0.8% each, while information technology staggered 0.5%.
The half-dozen gainers climbed on the shoulders of health-care and gold, each up 2.1%, while materials gained 1.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks drifted Tuesday afternoon, as investors took a step back after last week's stellar gains and remain wary about Europe's financial future.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 12.90 points to 12,569.90, Hewlett Packard and GE, along with financial leaders JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, were down the most. Chevron, Walt Disney and Kraft Foods posted the biggest gains.
The much-broader S&P 500 subsided 1.79 to 1,337.88, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index strengthened 9.74 points to 2,825.77.
Netflix's stock was the best performing stock on both the S&P and Nasdaq indexes. Shares jumped 7% to all-time highs after the company said it is expanding its streaming services to 43 counties in Latin America and the Caribbean later this year.
Shares of China's top search engine Baidu rose 1.1% after it reportedly signed a deal with Microsoft to provide English-language search results in China.
Baidu's main rival, Google, has failed to gain traction in the Chinese market
Investors were also juggling news on the lingering Greek debt crisis.
Standard & Poor's warned Monday that a plan for European banks to roll over some of Greece's debts into longer-term bonds would still be considered a default.
The plan, floated by European officials, is part of an effort to negotiate another bailout for the debt-stricken nation by involving the private sector.
Meanwhile, the European Union over the weekend officially approved the final $17 billion U.S. installment of a $156-billion U.S. bailout for Greece. The funds are expected to keep Greece solvent through the summer.
Investors will also proceed with cautious given the economic data-heavy agenda this week, culminating Friday with the U.S. Labor Department's June jobs report.
On the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department said factory orders rose 0.8% in May, after falling 0.9% in April. Economists were expecting orders to edge up 1%.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose Tuesday, pushing the yield down to 3.14% from 3.20% on Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for August delivery gained $1.96 to $96.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $30.10 to settle at $1,512.70 U.S. an ounce.
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