The Toronto stock market found early lift from energy stocks as oil prices continued to advance on signs of improving economic activity in China and the U.S.
The S&P TSX Composite Index began Wednesday’s session up 36.20 points to 12,269.03.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.10 cents to 98.38 cents U.S.
Traders were encouraged by data showing that China, the world’s second largest economy, reported 8.9% growth in the fourth quarter, slower than the previous quarter but strong enough to indicate it would avoid an abrupt slowdown. Retail and factory production improved while oil demand was up 6.4% in 2011 from 2010, according to data cited by Barclays Capital.
Meanwhile, investors remain nervous about what may happen with Greek debt talks following a breakdown in talks last Friday.
Without a deal with its private creditors, Greece has been told it won’t get the next instalment of money due from its first bailout. Without that money, Greece would be unable to pay a big bond redemption in March, potentially triggering a chain of events that could derail the global economic recovery and cause financial mayhem in Europe.
Sentiment was improved somewhat by comments made late Tuesday from Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director. She said that the Washington D.C.-based institution was looking at ways to increase its financial firepower, partly to deal with Europe’s debt crisis.
In corporate news, AbitibiBowater Inc., a newsprint producer now known as Resolute Forest Products, has asked Quebec regulators to kill a poison pill defence set up by Fibrek Inc. to fight off its $130-million hostile takeover bid.
Fibrek has rejected the takeover offer as too low and set up a shareholder rights plan to thwart the deal. The plan would make it difficult for an offer to succeed without Fibrek’s board approval.
Other stocks to watch this morning include Research In Motion, which is not on Samsung Electronics Co's immediate shopping list, but the company may still be attractive to Asian smartphone makers looking to compete against Google's Android, the world's fastest growing mobile platform.
Realtor Brookfield Asset Management Inc ended its agreement with Kerzner International Ltd to swap debt for equity on three Kerzner properties, after a court halted its takeover of the huge Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. said on Tuesday it will invest between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion in its business operations this year.
Centerra Gold Inc. said it could not predict when it would start production at its Gatsuurt project in Mongolia due to continued delays in receiving permits and approvals.
Paper and newsprint company Catalyst Paper Corp. filed a Chapter 15 proceeding in a U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 2.17 points to 1,539.89, while the Nasdaq Canada index sifted off 3.63 points to 399.79
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to begin the session. Industrials progressed 0.9%, global base metals gained 0.7%, and consumer discretionaries jumped 0.6%.
The two laggards were information technology, down 0.4%, and the metals and mining group, fading but 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were headed for a modestly higher open Wednesday, following reports that the International Monetary Fund may boost its bailout fund to contain Europe's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 35.04 points soon after the opening to 12,517.10
The S&P 500 added 0.67 points to 1,294.34, while the Nasdaq Composite picked up 11.54 points to 2,739.62.
Investors also had the latest bank earnings report to mull over ahead of the opening bell.
Goldman Sachs reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts, but missed on revenue. Goldman Sachs shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading.
On Tuesday, Citigroup missed earnings estimates, while results from Wells Fargo were in line with expectations. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are scheduled to release their results on Thursday
Late Tuesday, Yahoo announced that co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from the board of directors and all other positions at the company. Yahoo shares rose 3.2% in premarket trading.
Shares of Carnival rose 2.1% before the bell and after falling 14% the day before. The cruise line operator said it may suffer a more than $100 million U.S. hit to its profit from the grounding of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy.
Early Wednesday, published reports indicated that the IMF was considering expanding its lending capacity by an additional $500 billion U.S., on top of its current $385 billion U.S.
The euro rose to $1.28 against the U.S. dollar following the reports.
Economically speaking, producer prices fell 0.1% in December, the government reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a rise of 0.1% during the month.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note inched up, pushing yields down to 1.84% from Tuesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained another 49 cents to $101.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $1.70 to $1,653.90 U.S. an ounce.
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