The Toronto stock market was higher on the first day of February trading as commodity prices advanced amid positive manufacturing data from China and the United States.
The S&P TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday ahead 65.51 points, to 12,517.66
The Canadian dollar grew up 0.36 cents to 100.11 cents U.S., above parity with its American counterpart.
In China, two surveys gave mixed signals on manufacturing activity in January but both showed it largely unchanged.
The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index rose 0.2 points to 50.5 from December’s 50.3 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate growth.
HSBC Corp. said its HSBC China Manufacturing PMI was little changed at 48.8 from December’s 48.7, suggesting a "moderate deterioration."
The Chinese government moved to slow the economy in 2011 to deal with high inflation, partly through tightening lending requirements at banks.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has also announced stimulus for the struggling private business sector in the form tax breaks and a $2.5-billion U.S. fund to finance new small businesses.
China has been a main pillar of support for a global economy still struggling to recover from the financial crisis and subsequent recession of 2008. Its strong economic growth has been a big plus for oil and metal prices and commodity stocks on the resource-heavy TSX.
The financial sector was up while Royal Bank gained 84 cents to $53.21 and TD Bank improved by 46 cents to $78.00.
The tech sector was ahead with shares in information technology service provider CGI Group up 61 cents to $20.86 even as the company posted lower profits and recorded softer revenue. However, contract bookings were higher in the quarter.
Commodity prices advances following the Chinese data.
The base metals sector climbed while the March contract for copper rose two cents to $3.81 U.S. a pound. China is the largest consumer of copper, which is viewed as an economic bellwether because it is used in so many businesses. HudBay Minerals gained 30 cents to $12.01 and Ivanhoe Mines improved by 40 cents to $16.57.
Railway stocks rose alongside mining stocks with Canadian National Railways ahead 96 cents to $76.59.
Oil prices moved off session highs after the latest U.S. inventory figures showed a higher than expected increase in crude supplies. The Energy Information Administration reported inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 27, against expectations of a rise of three million barrels.
Cenovus Energy climbed 65 cents to $37.24.
Suncor Energy Inc. reported quarterly earnings of $1.43 billion or 91 cents a share amid higher oil prices. Revenues for the quarter were $10.1 billion versus $9.3 billion a year earlier.
Suncor also said crude is starting to flow out of its Libyan operations following a bloody civil war in the North African country. Its shares shed eight cents to $34.46.
The gold sector was down as Barrick Gold Corp. faded 22 cents to $49.24.
Consumer staples were also lower as grocer Metro Inc. fell $1.50 to $53.24.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.56 points to 1,637.31, while the Nasdaq Canada index grew 5.58 points to 417.46.
All but two of 14 Toronto subgroups remained positive on the day. Health-care stocks were 2.2% healthier, while information technology soared 1.8%, and the metals and mining group was 1.3% to the good.
The two laggards were consumer staples, down 1.3%, and gold, off 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks jumped Wednesday on a combination of improved economic data and easing concerns about Europe's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials ended the first session of February ahead 83.55 points, off its highs of the day, to 12,716.08
The S&P 500 gained 11.67 points to 1,324.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq galloped 34.43 points to 2,848.27
The gains put the Dow within striking distance of last year's peak, which was the highest point since May 2008.
Financial stocks were leading the rally, with shares of Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase up between 2% and 4%.
Traders said bank stocks were supported by expectations that a highly anticipated IPO filing by Facebook could signal a rebound in capital markets activity.
Meanwhile, the technology sector was supported by strong quarterly results from chip maker Broadcom and data storage company Seagate.
NYSE Euronext announced early Wednesday that it will terminate its merger agreement with Deutsche Boerse. The proposed $10-billion U.S. takeover of the operator of the New York Stock Exchange would have created the world's largest exchange, but was quashed by European officials.
Pfizer is recalling one million packs of birth control pills, after the pharmaceutical giant discovered that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets, and that the tablets may be out of sequence. Birth control pills typically have to be taken in sequence to be effective.
Shares of Tupperware fell after the company reported earnings per share that fell three cents U.S. short of forecasts. Hershey's shares edged lower after the chocolate maker reported earnings and sales in line with estimates.
Whirlpool shares rose after the company beat Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue.
Broadcom's stock also got a boost after the semiconductor firm reported slightly better results and issued a brighter outlook.
Shares of Segate Technology surged after the data storage company reported strong quarterly sales and earnings.
AOL reported fourth-quarter earnings of 23 cents U.S. per share, down 66% compared to last year. But the better-than-expected results boosted the Internet company's stock.
Shares of online retailer Amazon plunged after the company reported quarterly revenue late Tuesday that missed analysts' estimates. But the company beat profit expectations.
Two years after its bankruptcy and U.S. bailout, Chrysler Group posted 2011 net income of $183 million U.S., its first annual profit since 2005. Although the company is no longer publicly traded, its results boosted shares of its competitors, General Motors and Ford.
A key index of U.S. manufacturing activity came in slightly below expectations, but still signaled expansion in the sector. Earlier reports showed manufacturing activity picked up in China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, investors welcomed signs that talks in Greece are progressing on a second bailout and a write down of the nation's private-sector debt load. In the bond market, yields on Portuguese government bonds eased after the nation drew strong demand for an auction of short-term bills.
The other big news Wednesday looks likely to be Facebook's long-awaited IPO filing. According to reports from outlets including the New York Times and CNBC, Facebook is seeking to raise up to $5 billion U.S. in its offering.
If that number is correct, Facebook would by far be the largest global IPO by an Internet-focused company, according to data from Dealogic. Some experts have suggested that the social network could be valued between $75 billion and $100 billion U.S. once it starts trading, which will likely happen a few months after its initial filing.
Speaking of things economic, the Institute for Supply Management, a purchasing managers group, said its manufacturing index for January rose to 54.1 from 53.1 in December. The index was expected to stand at 54.5, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Elsewhere, a report from payroll processor ADP showed that the private sector added 170,000 jobs in January. The report was expected to show that 200,000 jobs were added last month, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, down from the revised gains of 292,000 the month prior.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note lost ground, hoisting yields to 1.85% from Tuesday’s 1.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery slipped $1.21 to $97.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $6.70 to $1,744.50 U.S. an ounce.
