Canada's main stock index opened slightly higher on Thursday, extending gains as commodity prices rose, after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero until 2014 and said it was pondering additional stimulus to support growth.
The S&P TSX Composite Index improved 21.09 points to break from the gates at 12,560.30
The Canadian dollar gained 0.51 cents to 1.0007 cents U.S., possibly heading for its first close above parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time since the end of October
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported fourth-quarter net income of $221 million, an increase from $186 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue grew to $1.4 billion from $1.29 billion.
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. said its profits grew in the fourth quarter to $683 million U.S. or 78 cents a share, up from $508 million a year ago. However, earnings were 11 cents short of expectations.
Sales grew to $1.87 billion from $1.81 billion.
Cogeco Inc. said its first-quarter profits grew 20% to $47.9 million, or $1.11 per share, versus $39.8 million, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenues increased 13% to $387.5 million from $341.7 million.
Economically speaking, payroll numbers were presented by Statistics Canada this morning, saying that in November, average non-farm weekly earnings were fairly static at $883.96, but 2.2% higher than the same month in 2010.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 18.41 points to 1,622.46, while the Nasdaq Canada index grew 5.78 points to 412.27.
In all, nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive in the first hour of trading. Materials led the pack, jumping 1.8%, while metals and mining picked up 1.6%, and gold chugged along 1.5%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by financials, sliding 0.5%, while health-care issues were 0.4% less robust, and consumer discretionary stocks fell 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks opened higher Thursday as investors welcomed strong corporate earnings results and kept an eye on ongoing debt talks in Greece.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 68.45 points soon after the opening bell to 12,825.40.
The S&P 500 perked 5.68 points to 1,331.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 13.58 points to 2,831.89.
The Dow's gains were led by Caterpillar, which posted better-than-expected earnings results.
Meanwhile, Netflix was the biggest winner on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with shares surging more than 20%. Late Tuesday, the streaming video and DVD-by-mail company topped earnings and sales expectations, and said it began to add customers again last quarter after a series of blunders damaged its reputation with consumers and investors.
AT&T shares slipped after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell short of forecasts, but revenue that beat expectations.
Nokia shares climbed after the mobile phone maker posted a fourth-quarter loss of €1.1 billion, and sales slumped 21% compared to the same period a year earlier.
Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop said the Finnish company has sold well over one million Lumia devices, a smartphone using Microsoft Windows Phone software.
U.S. stocks shaved early losses and ended higher Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates near historic lows through late 2014.
The Fed, which issued a statement at the end of a two-day policy meeting, had previously said it would hold rates low through mid-2013.
Investors are also still waiting for news out of Athens, where Greek officials are negotiating with private-sector creditors to reduce the country's debt burden.
Reports suggesting that Greece's private creditors may be willing to accept a coupon rate below 4% on the new Greek bonds helped lift investor sentiment.
Greece is in desperate need of an agreement to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Without these funds, the country may not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment due March 20.
On the economic beat, initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 21 rose to 377,000, up from a revised 356,000 the week prior, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists had anticipated 375,000 claims, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
Durable orders for the month of December rose 3% in December. Economists had expected orders to have risen 2%.
Later Thursday morning, a report on new home sales for December is expected to show sales hit 321,000. Meanwhile, the Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators Index for December is expected to have risen by 0.7%.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note leaped, lowering yields to 1.96% from Wednesday’s 2.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery surged $1.65 to $101.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery gained $26 to $1,726.10 U.S. an ounce.
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