The Toronto stock market finished in the green Tuesday as traders wondered if Italy and other euro-zone countries can manage their high debt levels amid much higher borrowing rates.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 5.08 points by the close to 12,229.27.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.47 cents to 97.92 cents U.S.
The financials sector was among the major TSX weights, while Royal Bank fell 50 cents to $45.40 and Manulife Financial gave back 21 cents to $11.79.
Industrial stocks were also lower with Canadian Pacific Railway down 12 cents to $62.48.
Bombardier Aerospace has signed a letter of intent to sell 10 more of its CSeries 300 jetliners. A Turkish airline, Atlasjet Havacilik A.S., plans to purchase 10 of the planes and hold an option for five more.
The initial contract is valued at $776 million U.S. and would increase to $1.18 billion if the option for the five planes is exercised. Bombardier shares ended the day unchanged at $4.41.
Commodity prices shook off early losses following the U.S. retail data.
The energy sector was off with Canadian Natural Resources up 15 cents to $37.52 while Talisman Energy was flat at $14.30.
The gold sector was ahead as Barrick Gold Corp. ran ahead 25 cents to $53.37 while Iamgold lost 20 cents to $21.57.
And copper prices were unchanged at $3.49 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector was down.
First Quantum Minerals dropped 50 cents to $19.05 while Ivanhoe Mines gained $1.04 to $22.53.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that September new motor vehicles moved higher 1.5% to 134,389 units, with truck sale hikes making up for fewer passenger car sales.
Elsewhere, StatsCan says manufacturing sales rose 2.6% to $49.2 billion in September, the third straight monthly improvement.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped forward 8.97 points to 1,647.49, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched up 7.27 points to 412.97
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, 10 ended the day ahead. Health-care stocks traveled 2.2% upward, metals and mining gained 2%, and global base metals improved 1.4%.
The four laggards were weighed by utilities, down 0.6%, while financials sank 0.4%, and telecom issues were 0.3% lower.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks recovered from earlier losses Tuesday, as investors weighed a batch of better-than-expected U.S. economic data against ongoing fears about the euro-zone debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials had accumulated 17.18 points to end the day at 12,096.20.
The S&P 500 gained 6.03 points to 1,257.81, while the Nasdaq Composite Index moved up 28.98 points to 2,686.20.
Stocks opened lower as investors were rattled by rising bond yields in Europe. But shares regained ground in the afternoon as the focus shifted to upbeat reports on the U.S. economy.
Wal-Mart reported a 1.3% increase in third-quarter same-store sales Tuesday, but posted earnings per share that missed expectations by a penny. Shares of the retail giant dipped.
Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods jumped after the retailer reported stronger earnings than analysts had been expecting, and said same-store sales rose 4.1% for the quarter.
Staples cut its full-year earnings forecast, and posted quarterly results that fell short of expectations. Shares of the company slipped.
Investors have been quick to react to signs of strain in the market for European sovereign debt, including bonds issued by Italy, Spain and France.
Italy's 10-year bond yield topped 7% following a lackluster reading on third-quarter euro-zone economic growth. That level, which the Italian bond yield spiked above for the first time last week, is a benchmark that makes traders nervous because it eventually led to bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland.
Economically speaking, retail sales rose 0.5% in October, boosted by strength in electronics and home improvement, the U.S. government said Tuesday. The increase beat expectations of a 0.4% rise, but was lower than the 1.1% gain in the previous month.
A separate government report showed that producer prices slipped 0.3% in October, following a 0.8% rise in September. Analysts polled by Briefing.com expected producer prices to have dropped by 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the Empire State manufacturing index returned to positive territory after five months in the red, indicating that manufacturing activity has been expanding in November in New York.
The index edged up to 0.6, from negative 8.5 last month. Economists were expecting the index to come in at minus 0.8.
The price on the 10-year Treasury sagged, driving the yield up to 2.06% from the 2.04% figure Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery regained $1.41 to $99.55 U.S. a barrel
Gold futures for December delivery slid $8.20 to $1,770.20 U.S. an ounce
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