Toronto's main stock index opened higher on Thursday, as commodity prices rallied on optimism Greece would pull off a critical bond swap deal.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index began the day up 62.29 points to 12,412.45
The Canadian dollar tacked on 0.49 cents to 100.73 cents U.S.
In earnings news, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported that its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 9%, to $835 million or $1.93 a share. The bank's adjusted earnings, which strip out some one-time items, topped analysts' expectations. CIBC held its dividend unchanged.
Canadian Western Bank posted a 10% rise in quarterly profit, helped by strong loan growth.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported that its earnings swung to a gain of $832 million, up from a loss of $309 million last year. The energy producer also boosted its dividend by 17%.
Grain handler Viterra reported a lower quarterly profit partly hurt by weak performance at its processing segment.
TransGlobe Energy Corp. said its quarterly profit rose more than three times, helped by higher production and oil prices, and the company expects 2012 output to rise by up to 65%.
The European Union's investigation into the codes Thomson Reuters uses to identify financial securities has reached a critical stage after market testing of the company's proposed solution proved unsuccessful, according to the E.U.’s competition commissioner.
NAL Energy Corp said its fourth-quarter FFO increased about 12%, helped in part by higher oil production from its Saskatchewan operations.
Miner Xstrata expanded its coking coal operations in Canada's British Columbia on Thursday with the $500-million purchase of assets from Talisman Energy.
Ivanhoe Australia, the company, 59% owned by billionaire Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Mines has started producing copper and gold from its Osborne acquisition in Australia
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., ratcheting up its defense in a proxy battle with its biggest shareholder, said on Wednesday its "strong" customer relationships are paying off and posted testimonials from satisfied companies.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada’s New Housing Price Index rose 0.1% in January, following a similar increase in December, mostly due to growth in Calgary and Vancouver.
Meantime, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts came in at 201,100 units in February, up from 198,100 units in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 14.30 points to 1,635.97, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved ahead 4.33 points to 411.22
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive in the day’s first hour. Metals and mining zoomed 1.6%, while global base metals tacked on 0.8% and health-care issues were 0.7% more robust.
The three laggards were gold, off 0.3%, consumer staples, down 0.2%, and utilities slid 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks opened higher Thursday, as investors await further developments in Greece ahead of a crucial debt swap and gear up for the February jobs report.
Data on initial jobless claims and planned job cuts came out Thursday, one day before the government's closely watched monthly jobs data is released on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrials began Thursday 31.14 points higher to 12,868.50.
The S&P 500 gained 7.42 points to 1,360.05, while the Nasdaq added 15.52 points to 2,951.21
Meanwhile, Greece is moving closer to finalizing an agreement with its private-sector bondholders. The creditors must agree to a restructuring of Greece's debt Thursday in order to prevent the country from defaulting.
The European Central Bank announced Thursday that it will keep interest rates unchanged.
Shares for McDonald's fell after the fast food franchise said that same-store sales rose 7.5% in February but listed off the factors that could impact its first quarter operating income growth.
Anheuser-Busch InBev shares rose after the brewer reported quarterly earnings and sales that topped forecasts, and issued an upbeat outlook.
Shares of AIG slipped a day after the Treasury Department said it was selling $6 billion U.S. worth of its AIG stock at a profit. But AIG still owes some $42 billion U.S. and it's unclear when that will be repaid.
Economically speaking, initial jobless claims for the week ended March 3 total 362,000, an increase of 8,000 from the prior week, according to the U.S. government. That was higher than expectations of 355,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
Planned job cuts for the month of February totaled 51,728, according to a report from outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas released before the opening bell.
That's down from the 53,486 cuts recorded in January.
On Wednesday, payroll processor ADP said the private sector added 216,000 jobs in February -- an improvement from the month prior and roughly in line with expectations.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note sagged, raising yields to 2.00% from Wednesday’s 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained 24 cents to $106.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $12.90 to $1,696.80 U.S. an ounce.
