The Toronto stock market gained some territory Tuesday, following a strong U.S. retail sales number.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 58.17 points by noon to 12,486.18
The Canadian dollar took on 0.29 cents to 101 cents U.S.
The TSX base metals sector advanced, as May copper rose three cents to $3.87 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources climbed 38 cents to $35.87 and HudBay Minerals gained 20 cents to $11.69.
Tech stocks were also strong with Research In Motion Ltd. ahead 29 cents to $13.34 while Celestica Inc. was up 12 cents to $9.55.
The gold sector was flat as Goldcorp Inc. was up 38 cents to $46.63 while Iamgold added six cents to $14.02.
Oil prices gave up early gains with Suncor Energy improving 14 cents to $33.33 and Canadian Natural Resources down 33 cents to $34.07.
Telecoms were also weak with BCE Inc. down 78 cents to $40.89.
In earnings news, Canadian media company and publisher Transcontinental Inc. reported a $33.3-million loss, or 41 cents per share, compared to a profit of $25.7 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net income was down 6% to $27.1 million, or 33 cents per share, a penny lower than analyst expectations.
Revenues decreased 4% to $495.9 million from $514.8 million.
Transcontinental also said it is raising its dividend by 7% to 14.5 cents, but its shares dipped 22 cents to $12.66.
Clearwater Seafoods Inc. had a $16.4-million profit in the fourth quarter, with $87.1 million of revenue. That’s an improvement from the year-earlier period when the Halifax-based company had a loss of $4.9 million with $82.8 million of revenue. Clearwater shares gained 11 cents to $2.30.
In other corporate news, shares in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International were off 19 cents to $54.08 as it said it is expanding its presence in Eastern Europe by acquiring Austrian generic drug company Gerot Lannach’s assets primarily in Russia for less than $185 million.
Gerot Lannach’s largest product is acetylsalicylic acid, a low dose aspirin. The company said total sales of these products were about $55 million last year, up more than 20% from 2010.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped forward 1.92 points to 1,638.02, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved 5.55 points higher to 414.70
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups approached noon higher, led by the metals and mining group, up 2.3%, while global base metals prospered 2.1%, and information technology advanced 1.3%.
The three laggards were telecoms, off 0.4%, health-care, down 0.2%, and gold, sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rose Tuesday as investors welcomed a solid report on retail sales ahead of a statement from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 109.59 points to break for lunch at 13,069.30. The blue-chip index moved back above 13,000 for the first time since March 1.
The S&P 500 tacked on 11.51 points to 1,382.60, while the Nasdaq leaped 29.03 points to 3,012.69, to trade above 3,000 for the first time Feb. 29. The last time the Nasdaq closed above 3,000 was Dec. 11, 2000.
Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan were among the top performers. First Solar, Micron Technology and JDS Uniphase were also strong.
Yahoo filed a lawsuit against Facebook late Monday, alleging that the social media giant infringed on 10 of its patents related to advertising, privacy, customization, messaging and social networking.
Intel shares nudged higher after reports that the chipmaker is planning an Internet-based television service.
Apple shares edged higher following upbeat comments from Wall Street analysts.
Shares of Urban Outfitters sank after the retailer said profits fell 47% last year.
Stocks have rallied this year on steadily improving U.S. economic data and hopes for a lasting solution to Europe's debt crisis. But trading volumes have been low as nervous investors pulled money out of retail investment funds.
The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates near zero when it concludes a two-day policy meeting Tuesday. But investors will be looking closely at the central bank's statement for any clues about what it may do in the coming months, in light of recent upbeat reports on the job market and the broader U.S. economy.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government reported Tuesday morning that retail sales rose 1.1% in February, boosted by a surge in gasoline prices. That was slightly above the 1% rise anticipated by economists.
A separate report showed business inventories increased 0.7% in January, compared with a forecast rise of 0.6%.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note slid, raising yields to 2.08% from Monday’s 2.03%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained 44 cents to $106.78 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery declined $9.80 to $1,690 U.S. an ounce.
