Stocks in Toronto continued to show strenght Thursday boosted by the mining and energy sectors -- while oil gained momentum amid high hopes for a new European plan to shore up its banks.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 251.92 points, or 2.2 percent, at 11,709.14.
The European Central Bank offered new emergency loans to banks on Thursday to help steady them through the government debt crisis, but decided to keep interest rates on hold despite fears of a sharp economic slowdown.
In corporate news -- network technology developer Sandvine Corp. (TSX:SVC) says its third-quarter revenue hit a record US$25.6 million. The results were up 10 percent from the year-earlier period and up 7 percent from the previous quarter.
Analysts had been looking for US$26.3 million in revenue and 1 cent per share of earnings, according to nine estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Shares of Ivanhoe Mines jumped $2.20 or 14.16 percent to $17.74 after the company said an investment agreement for the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine, made with the Mongolian government and partner Rio Tinto, has been reaffirmed.
On the data front -- municipalities in Canada issued $5.9 billion worth of building permits in August, a 10.4 percent drop from July and their second straight monthly decline. Statistics Canada reports the value of permits fell in both the residential and non-residential sectors, mainly in Ontario.
The Canadian dollar headed lower Thursday with traders opting to take less risk in the wake of a surprise decision by the European Central Bank to reduce interest rates. The loonie was down 0.39 of a cent to 95.75 cents US following a 1.34 cent surge on Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 55.83 to 1,469.48, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 13.69 points to 444.03.
All of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive. Metals and mining stocks gained 8.60%, energy stocks picked up 3.72%, and industrials were ahead 2.99%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped solidly into positive territory Thursday after choppy morning trading as global markets cheer the Bank of England's decision to expand its bond-buying program and the European Central Bank's continuation of bank liquidity measures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was back above the 11,000 level, gaining 112 points, or 1%, at 11,052. The S&P 500 was adding 14 points, or 1.2%, to 1158, and the Nasdaq was ahead by 30 points, or 1.2%, at 2490.
In his final press conference after eight years as the head of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet announced the resumption of its bank-bond buying program and said the central bank will extend loans to banks to ensure that they don't run into liquidity problems. The central bank will spend €40 billion ($53 billion) on covered bonds starting in November and offer unlimited loans of 12 to 13 months.
In the U.S., the Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 401,000 in the week ended Oct. 1, which was less than the jump to 410,000 claims that economists had been expecting, according to Thomson Reuters.
News that former Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs died after battling pancreatic cancer broke roughly an hour after the close of Wednesday's trading session. Known as one of Silicon Valley's greatest innovators, Jobs stepped down from his position as CEO in August but remained chairman of the company's board. Shares were rising 1.3% to $383.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury was losing 13/32, pushing the yield to 1.938%.
In commodity markets, gold for December delivery was adding $3.20, to trade at $1644.80 an ounce.
The November crude oil contract was adding 88 cents to trade at $80.56 a barrel.
Related Stories
