Canadian stocks gained momentum Thursday, rising after the European Central Bank president’s pledge to save the euro overshadowed weak second-quarter earnings reported by Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., MEG Energy Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp.
The S&P/TSX Composite index remained in the green 31.53 points to make it to noon Thursday at 11,524.04
The Canadian dollar added half a cent to 98.97 cents U.S.
On the earnings front, shares of Potash Corp. slipped 2%. The fertilizer company reported a 38% drop in second-quarter profit from the same period a year ago.
MEG Energy rose 2.3% despite posting a second-quarter loss of 15 cents a share, a reversal from the Alberta-based company’s profit of 21 cents a share a year ago. The oil sands company cited a significant foreign-exchange loss due to a weakening Canadian dollar relative to the greenback.
Further, Barrick Gold reported second-quarter profit fell 35%, while its adjusted net earnings sank 30%. Shares of the Toronto-based gold miner subsequently stumbled 7.4%.
On the economic front, average weekly wages rose by 0.5% in May, marking the third straight month of increases, according to Statistics Canada. Further, Canadian businesses added a further 76,935 jobs in May, following an increase of 51,576 the previous month.
Rising 2.5% on a year-over-year basis, gains in average weekly wages were most notable in energy mining, construction, financial and insurance industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 3.52 points to 1,175.84. The Nasdaq Canada index gained 2.95 points to 333.03.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by noon hour. The metals and mining group vied with industrials for the lead, each gaining 0.9%, while energy stocks were ahead 0.8%.
The two laggards were in gold, off 1.1%, and materials, down 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks got a boost Thursday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the bank would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.
The Dow Jones industrial average remained strong, gaining 167.64 points, or 1.3%, to greet noon ET at 12,843.69
The S&P 500 advanced 16.05 points to 1,353.64. The Nasdaq soared 26.62 points to 2,880.86
Exxon Mobil's profit surged 49% to $15.9 billion U.S. during the second quarter. The massive number -- which would be by far the highest quarterly profit ever for any company -- included a special gain for divestitures. Shares of Exxon edged higher.
Zynga's stock plunged 40% early Thursday, a day after the online-gaming company badly missed earnings expectations.
Shares of Facebook, which earns roughly 18% of its revenue from users who play Zynga games on its platform, were also down sharply.
Facebook is expected to report quarterly earnings of 12 cents a share on $1.15 billion U.S. in revenue later Thursday, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.
Shares of Sprint Nextel rallied after the wireless carrier reported higher revenues for the second quarter.
Dow component 3M reported better-than-expected earnings, but the company's revenue fell short of estimates.
Shares of Whole Foods were up sharply after the organic grocery store chain's earnings surpassed Wall Street's expectations and the company raised its forecast for the year.
Of the 215 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, about 67% have beat Wall Street's expectations, according to S&P Capital IQ. Analysts are currently expecting overall S&P 500 second-quarter earnings to decline 0.38%, which would mark the end of a 10-quarter winning streak.
Speaking at an investment conference in London, Draghi's comments suggest the ECB may start buying bonds again in an effort to help bring down skyrocketing borrowing costs.
Europe's debt crisis remains a significant headwind for global markets. Investors have been growing increasingly convinced that Spain will need a sovereign bailout. Though Spain's 10-year yield has pulled back near 7%, after touching an all-time high of 7.75% Wednesday, the country's borrowing costs remain unsustainably high.
On the economic front, the number of people filing for initial jobless claims fell 35,000 to 353,000 in the latest week, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Analysts were expecting a reading of 381,000 unemployment claims.
The Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders rose 1.6% in June, far better than the 0.3% increase economists were expecting.
Pending home sales, on tap for this morning from the National Association of Realtors, are expected to have increased by 0.9% in June.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost a bit ground, raising yields to 1.43% from Wednesday’s 1.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for September delivery picked up 52 cents to $89.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery gained $6.50 to $1,614.60 U.S. an ounce.
