Canadian stocks moved generally higher Tuesday, in keeping with an upward trend for their American cousins.
The S&P/TSX Composite came off its highs of the day to finish higher by 73.94 points at 12,270.66
The Canadian dollar gathered 0.63 cents to 98.34 cents U.S.
Shares of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. slipped 0.9% to $68.67 a day after news reports suggested that activist hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is readying a proxy fight to replace Fred Green as chief executive.
Research In Motion Ltd. dropped 0.8% to $15.77, following the reception of its new PlayBook at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Toronto-listed gold stocks were doing especially well. Shares of Iamgold Corp. spiked 1.3% to $17.68, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. jumped 7.1% to $23.10. Kinross Gold Corp. added 1.6% to $13.02, and Barrick Gold Corp. gained 0.7% to $49.22, while NovaGold Resources Inc. traded up 1.4% to $9.32.
In Canadian earnings news, quarterly profits at Corus Entertainment Inc. came in at $91.2 million, or 61 cents per share, beating average analyst estimates of 59 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The results marked an increase from $90.7 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenues rose 7% to $236.9 million from $222.2 million, thanks to double-digit growth in ad sales from its female-centric TV channels. Corus shares were down 3.1% to $20.67.
Shares in lululemon athletica inc. surged almost 11.5% to $60.95 after the yoga-inspired retailer raised its profit and revenue estimates. It also expects diluted earnings will be about seven cents per share higher than previously estimated, in a range of 47 cents to 49 cents per share.
TransCanada Corp. has stepped up its publicity campaign for the politically-charged Keystone XL pipeline. It has released a detailed breakdown of how the $7-billion project would create 20,000 jobs in the United States, if approved. Its shares were off 1.7% to $42.79.
Economically speaking, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation said this morning that housing starts were up more than 14,000 to 200,000 units in December from the month before.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 14.75 points to 1,542.23, while the Nasdaq Canada index hiked 5.93 points to 388.62
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups stayed strong all day. Metals and mining stocks surged 3.4%, health-care stocks were 2.6% more robust, and global base metals vaulted 2.3%.
The lone laggards were information technology, down 1.5%, utilities, off 0.8%, and telecoms, declining 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks advanced Tuesday, on the back of gains in global markets, as investors grew optimistic following upbeat comments about Europe and a decent start to quarterly corporate results.
The Dow Jones Industrials were up 69.78 points to end the day at 12,462.50
The S&P 500 gained 11.37 points at 1,292.07, while the Nasdaq Composite picked up 25.94 points to 2,702.50.
The gains were led by financial stocks. Bank of America surged 6%, making it the best performer in the Dow. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were up more than 4%, while Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase rose about 3%.
Shares of Tiffany slid after the luxury retailer cut its outlook for the year, blaming weak holiday sales in the United States and Europe.
On the upside, lululemon athletica's stock jumped after the apparel maker raised its fourth-quarter earnings guidance.
Liz Claiborne shares tumbled after the apparel company lowered its 2012 outlook and announced the departure of its chief financial officer, Andrew Warren. Warren is leaving the company to work as CFO at Discovery Communications
Liz Claiborne is changing its name to Fifth & Pacific Companies, and will trade under the ticker symbol FNP starting in May. The company sold its namesake brand to J.C. Penney in October.
Shares of GlaxoSmithKline fell following reports that the drugmaker was trying to sell the remainder of its over-the-counter brands as soon as possible. Last month, Glaxo sold brands, including Beano and Ecotrin, to Comet and Pediacare maker Prestige Brands Holdings for $660 million U.S.
Tuesday's broad move higher came as investors found comfort in Fitch Rating's comments about Europe being on the right path toward solving its debt problems.
On the sidelines of the presentation, Fitch officials also reiterated the agency's December stance that it doesn't plan to downgrade AAA-rated France this year.
A solid start to U.S. quarterly results also brightened the mood. Late Monday, investors brushed off Dow component Alcoa's fourth-quarter loss as the company topped sales estimates and issued an upbeat outlook for aluminum demand in 2012.
While no major corporate reports are scheduled for Tuesday, the rest of the week will bring reports from Lennar and JPMorgan Chase
Overall, earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to be up 7.5% in the final three months of 2011 versus the same period in 2010, according to research from S&P Capital IQ.
Fitch's head of ratings also indicated there's a "significant chance" of a downgrade for Italy.
The ratings agency plans to make a decision on all the European countries it currently has on negative watch by the end of the month.
On the economic front, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that wholesale inventories for the month of November rose 0.1%. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting inventories to have increased by 0.6% in November, after expanding by 1.2% in October.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note faded, nudging yields up to 1.97% from Monday’s 1.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery spiked 97 cents to $102.28 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery gained $23.40 to settle at $1,631.50 U.S. an ounce.
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