North American markets gained ground Wednesday, as optimism ahead of talks by European leaders on how to contain the euro-zone debt crisis outweighed concern about U.S. retail sales.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 87.90 points to 12,293.38
The Canadian dollar slid 0.49 of a cent to 100.94 cents U.S.
The mining index on the TSX gained, with shares in Teck Resources Ltd. up 39 cents at $39.12.
In Canadian corporate news, supermarket operator Empire Company Ltd., which operates the Sobeys stores and has interests in real estate and movie theatres, said profits in the quarter ended Aug. 6 were $89.2 million or $1.31 per diluted share.
That compared with $86.3 million or $1.26 per share in year-earlier. Revenue was $4.15 billion, up from $4.02 billion. Shares fell five cents to $57.10.
Gran Tierra Energy Inc. has confirmed new oil discoveries in both Colombia and Argentina and says it plans additional drilling this year in those countries as well as in Brazil. Shares in the company added 3.1% or 18 cents to $5.95.
And Petrominerales Ltd. said it is resuming oil production in Colombia after government authorities reopen access roads blocked by protesters. Shares gained $1.01, or 3.5%, to $30.24.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 7.45 points to 1,753.84, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched its way up 0.26 points to 518.13
At the close, all but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher. Health-care stocks were 3.2% more robust, telecoms 2.4% stronger, and energy issues were 2% to the good.
The lone laggards were gold, down 1.3%, and materials, sliding 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, a stock rally gained momentum Wednesday afternoon, after key European leaders calmed jittery investors by insisting that Greece would remain a euro-zone member and would achieve its fiscal targets.
The Dow Jones Industrials closed up 140.88 points, or 1.3%, to 11,246.70.
The S&P 500 advanced 15.81 points to 1,188.68, while the Nasdaq hiked 40.40 points to 2,572.55.
Shares of Hertz spiked 15%, after Avis Budget Group said it is dropping its $1.5-billion U.S. bid for Dollar Thrifty -- leaving Hertz as the sole bidder. Hertz and Avis Budget have been making rival proposals for Dollar Thrifty for more than a year.
Shares of cereal maker Ralcorp sank 8% after ConAgra reiterated its $94 U.S. a share takeover offer, but said it would withdraw that bid if it wasn't accepted by Sept. 19.
Following a telephone conference call with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a statement from Merkel's office stressed that the future of Greece is in the euro-zone. And Papandreou reaffirmed his debt-ridden country's commitment to take the necessary steps to meet Greece's fiscal goals.
Investors have been parsing through the good, the bad and the downright confusing news about Europe's debt crisis throughout the day, which made for a choppy trading session.
Earlier headlines suggesting that the Austrian parliament committee "rejected" the expansion of Europe's stability fund spooked investors and sparked a sharp selloff.
But it turned out the headlines weren't exactly right.
A spokesperson from the Austrian finance ministry told reporters that the Sept. 21 parliament vote to upgrade the stability fund will be delayed to late September or early October, due to a procedural hiccup. But he reassured that parliament has the simple majority needed to pass the measure.
Investors also grappled with news that Moody's downgraded French banks Credit Agricole and Societe Generale. While the news was disappointing (though expected for some time), the downgrade wasn't as bad as some had feared.
And investors were further heartened by talks coming out of the Europe that the European Commission was close to unveiling a proposal for a new common euro-zone bond.
The idea of a Eurobond has been talked about lately, as a possible solution to ease the borrowing costs for the weaker members of the 17 euro area nations. But it's faced some opposition from more creditworthy nations, which would face higher borrowing costs.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale inflation, was unchanged in August, in line with expectations. The so-called core PPI -- which strips out volatile food and energy prices -- ticked up 0.1%, after increasing 0.4% the previous month.
Retail sales were flat in August, following a 0.3% rise the previous month. Economists were expecting that sales rose 0.2% in August. Excluding sales of the volatile auto sector, sales edged up 0.1% last month.
Business inventories rose 0.4% in July. The reading was just short of economists expectations for a 0.5% increase.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, increasing the yield to 2.01% from 1.99% late Tuesday. Prices and yields for Treasurys move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery slipped $1.25 to $88.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December fell $3.60 to settle at $1,826.50 U.S. an ounce.
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