Investors in Toronto took their stock market marginally higher on the eve of jobs numbers for January, and also digested remarks by the head of the U.S. central bank.
The S&P TSX Composite Index ended the day higher by 35.82 points to 12,553.48
The Canadian dollar was down 0.10 cents at 100.04 cents U.S., after the loonie closed above parity with the U.S. dollar Wednesday for the first time since late October.
The tech sector was the strongest TSX group with shares in Open Text Corp. surging $7.84 or 14.9% to $60.50. The company, which sells software used by major companies around the world to manage their electronic documents, beat analyst estimates last quarter as profit rose to $47.4 million U.S. and its revenue increased by 20.2% over the year-earlier period.
In the base metals sector, mining company Xstrata PLC confirmed Thursday that it is in merger discussions with commodities trader Glencore International PLC, a deal that would create an industry giant with around $175 billion U.S. worth of revenues. Xstrata said that Glencore had proposed an all-share merger of equals. Glencore cautioned that there was no certainty of an offer being made.
The merged mining giant would operate businesses around the world, including major nickel mining and refining businesses in Canada, where Xstrata owns the former Falconbridge nickel company.
Metal prices backed off with copper down three cents to $3.81 U.S. On the TSX, HudBay Minerals gained 19 cents to $12.19, while Ivanhoe Mines ducked back 20 cents to $16.43.
Crude prices continued to weaken following data Wednesday showing that U.S. oil inventories rose much more than expected last week. In Toronto’s energy sector, Cenovus Energy was up 32 cents to $37.61 and Talisman Energy gained 16 cents to $12.07.
The gold sector was ahead with Barrick Gold Corp. advanced 51 cents to $49.80.
The financial sector was down as Bank of Montreal shed 48 cents to $58.32.
Shares in Scotiabank fell 48 cents to $51.36 after the bank said Wednesday it plans to raise $1.5 billion in an offering of common shares that the bank said will be used to pay for recent acquisitions. The bank will sell 30 million shares at $50.25 per share.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, a unit of phone giant Telus Corp. acquired Wolf Medical Systems, a company that provides online health records sharing for doctors. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed. Telus shares slid 22 cents to $56.91.
Stock markets were lifted Wednesday by strong manufacturing data from China and the U.S. and a report from payroll firm ADP that the American private sector created 170,000 jobs last month.
Economists were looking for the U.S. economy to have created a total of 150,000 jobs in January.
Employment figures for Canada also come out Friday and economists expect the economy cranked out about 24,500 jobs during January.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, a unit of phone giant Telus Corp. acquired Wolf Medical Systems, a company that provides online health records sharing for doctors. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 23.26 points to 1,660.57, while the Nasdaq Canada index grew 11.01 points to 428.47.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were still positive by the closing bell. Information technology raced ahead 3.8%, while gold shone 1.7% brighter, and materials gained 1%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by consumer staples, sliding 0.7%, while financials were down 0.6%, and health-care issues fell back 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were mixed Thursday as investors digested a cautious economic outlook from the chairman of the Federal Reserve one day before a key report on the job market.
The Dow Jones Industrials scaled back 11.40 points to end the day at 12,705.40
The S&P 500 inched ahead 1.52 points to 1,325.61, while the tech-rich Nasdaq added 11.41 points to 2,859.68
Retailers reported better-than-expected same-store sales in January, according to preliminary results from sales-tracker Thomson Reuters.
Abercrombie & Fitch's stock fell after the clothing retailer reported weak same-store sales for the latest quarter and lowered its earnings guidance.
Zynga shares rallied following Facebook's IPO filing. Zynga's gaming apps and advertising contributed about 12% of Facebook revenue last year.
Sony shares fell after the company reported disappointing earnings and revenue.
Unilever shares slumped after the maker of Lipton teas, Dove soaps and other consumer products said it had difficulty passing higher raw material costs on to consumers last year, and announced a gloomy outlook for 2012.
Qualcomm, a company that sells chips used in cellphones, boosted its forecast for its 2012 performance.
Viacom shares fell after the media giant reported better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal first quarter, but cited ratings weakness and softness in the U.S. television advertising market. Its film division swung to an operating loss in the quarter.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shares jumped after the company reported its first-quarter revenue soared 102% compared to a year earlier, boosted by K-Cup sales.
Speaking before Congress, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy has shown some signs of improvement recently, but described the pace of the recovery as "frustratingly slow."
The sluggish recovery leaves the economy "vulnerable to shocks," including the debt crisis in Europe, the central bank chief added.
Bernanke reiterated that the Fed expects to hold interest rates at historic lows through late 2014.
The comments raised speculation that the Fed is willing to take additional steps to support the economy if conditions deteriorate
The Fed has purchased billions of dollars worth of Treasury bonds and other assets under its quantitative easing program. Some analysts say the Fed could hold a third round of asset purchases this year, depending on how the recovery progresses.
Meanwhile, investors remain on the lookout for an official agreement on a debt-reduction plan and second bailout for Greece. The deal is expected to come by the end of the week, though deadlines have been missed in the past.
On the economic ledger, initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 28 totaled 367,000, according to the government. They were expected to total 375,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to show that fourth-quarter productivity ticked up 0.7%, versus the previous year.
A few reports are pointing to a slowdown in hiring in January. Data released Thursday morning from outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows planned job cuts surged 28% in January to 53,486 -- marking the highest total since 116,000 job cuts announced in September.
The Challenger report follows data Wednesday from payroll processor ADP saying that the private sector added 170,000 jobs in January, down sharply from 292,000 in December.
The government's highly anticipated jobs report due out Friday morning, is expected to show the U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, according to economists. That would mark a sharp slowdown in hiring versus December, when 200,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.6%.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note edged higher, lowering yields to 1.82% from Wednesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery lost $1.09 to $96.52 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery added $2.10 to $1,751.60 U.S. an ounce.
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