The Toronto stock market moved higher shortly after open Friday morning on the back of positive earnings from both sides of the border and higher commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index approached noon up 30.06 points to 12,183.75
The Canadian dollar gained 0.47 cents, to 100.92 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. beat analyst expectations with a $142-million profit in the first quarter, or 82 cents per share. The results came in two cents better than analysts expected, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.
The financial report comes several weeks before the company’s annual meeting, at which CP management will face its largest shareholder. Pershing Square Capital has been calling for the removal of CEO Fred Green and the installation of new representatives on the board of directors.
Oil prices advanced after two consecutive days of declines. Copper prices moved higher, up half a cent to $3.68 U.S. a pound
In Canada, a Japanese company is investing $602 million to acquire a share of Encana Corp.’s extensive coalbed methane reserves in southern Alberta. Encana said Toyota Tsusho Corp. will acquire a 32.5% royalty interest in about 5,500 existing and future Encana coalbed methane wells.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said the annual inflation rate fell to 1.9% in March from 2.6% in February, marking the lowest level since September 2010. This would appear to be close to ideal for the Bank of Canada, which aims for overall inflation of 2%.
The nation’s number-crunchers also sounded a cheery note, saying its composite leading index rose 0.4% in March, slightly less than the 0.7% rise in February, extending the index’s roll to nine straight months. Of the 10 components measured by the index, eight were stronger.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange perked 3.38 points to 1,400.15, while the Nasdaq Canada index added 0.33 points to 415.77
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained upward by noon. Consumer discretionaries gained 0.9%, consumer staples and utilities jumped 0.7% each.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by information technology, down 1.2%, gold, down 0.5%, and telecoms, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks advanced Friday, as investors welcomed another round of strong earnings from corporate America and positive news out of Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrials broke for lunch ahead 116.10 points to 13,080.20
The S&P 500 acquired 9.79 points to 1,386.71, and the Nasdaq gained 18.67 points to 3,028.57
It's been a choppy week on Wall Street, but all three major indexes are on track to finish higher, breaking a two-week losing streak. The Dow and S&P 500 on both on track to book gains of more than 1%, while the Nasdaq is going for a 0.6% rise.
Friday is a light day on the economic calendar, with no major U.S. reports due, but investors will continue to wade through first-quarter results from several large firms.
Microsoft shares surged more than 5%, leading the gains on the Dow and the Nasdaq. The company beat earnings expectations late Thursday, with sales growth of 6% thanks to its Windows and Office products.
McDonalds and General Electric were also big gainers, with both companies reporting earnings that topped analyst estimates.
E*Trade shares soared almost 7%, leading the S&P 500, on better-than-expected first-quarter financial results.
Quarterly earnings this round have been surprisingly strong. Of the 121 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported, more than 80% have beat expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. During a typical quarter, only about 60% of companies beat estimates.
Shares of processor developer AMD rose, after the company beat expectations Thursday.
Flash memory producer SanDisk's stock fell sharply after the company missed earnings expectations in reporting its quarterly results Thursday and said it expected a similarly weak performance in the current quarter.
US Airways shares dipped after the airline said it reached an agreement with three American Airlines unions for support of a possible merger.
Shares of technology firm Infoblox soared in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange, rising more than 35% versus their offering price.
Proofpoint shares, which also made their stock market debut Friday, climbed about 10%.
Anxieties remain, however, about the European crisis and the question of whether large economies such as Spain and Italy may be drifting towards crisis.
Over the past few months, the European Central Bank has pulled out all the stops to prevent a credit crunch by providing banks with €1 trillion in ultra-low cost financing. But the potency of the ECB's two long-term refinancing operations, or LTROs, appears to be fading, as yields on Spanish and Italian bonds have shot higher in recent weeks.
Investors are hopeful that global finance officials will announce new resources for the
International Monetary Fund during the IMF and World Bank's spring meeting in Washington.
Analysts with the Eurasia Group expect the IMF to announce $400 billion U.S. in additional funding at the conclusion of the meeting this weekend.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped a mite, lifting the yield to 1.98% from Thursday’s 1.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for May delivery boosted $1.50 to $103.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery gained $1.60 to $1,642.20 U.S. an ounce.
