The Toronto stock market registered a solid advance Thursday after the European Central Bank announced a bond buying program designed to help alleviate higher borrowing costs that have squeezed the most vulnerable members of the euro-zone, including Spain and Italy.
The program is called Monetary Outright Transactions and will see the ECB buy up government bonds on the secondary bond market, where previously issued securities are traded.
The S&P/TSX Composite index moved up 149.59 points, or 1.3%, to close Thursday at 12,139.73
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.77 cents to 101.75 cents U.S.
Energy stocks sizzled, as Suncor Energy climbed 52 cents to $31.87 while Canadian Natural Resources was ahead 74 cents at $30.10.
The base metals group also climbed as December copper shed early losses and was unchanged at $3.53 U.S. a pound after gaining six cents on Wednesday. First Quantum Minerals was up 78 cents, or more than 4%, at $19.96.
Major Drilling Group International jumped $1.07, or 11.7%, to $10.20 as the company reported record quarterly earnings of $31.9 million or 40 cents a share, up from $17.9 million a year ago.
In the gold sector, Goldcorp Inc. was up 89 cents at $41.40 while Iamgold Corp. gained 27 cents to $13.30.
Gains were widespread across all TSX sectors with the financials segment up. Manulife Financial was up 25 cents at $11.50 and Bank of Montreal advanced 42 cents to $57.62.
The tech sector also provided lift with CGI Group ahead 13 cents at $26.40.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 12.03 points to 1,258.30.
All 14 Toronto subgroups remained positive all day, led by metals and mining stocks, up 3%, global base metals, ahead 2.6%, while energy stocks advanced 2%.
ON WALLSTREET
A rally on Wall Street gained momentum Thursday as investors welcomed better-than-expected reports on the U.S. labour market and the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan.
The Dow Jones industrial average rocketed 244.52 points, or 1.9%, to conclude the session at 13,292.
The advance was broad, with nearly all 30 components of the Dow moving higher. Bank stocks were leading the gains on the blue-chip index with shares of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase soaring more than 4%. About 98% of the S&P 500 was trading in positive territory.
The S&P 500 index gained 27.43 points, or 2%, to 1,430.87, its highest level since May 2007, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was higher by 66.55 points, or 2.2%, to 3,135.81, its highest level since November 2000.
Amazon unveiled a new front-lit Kindle e-reader Thursday afternoon. The device, called the Paperwhite, will sell for $119 U.S. and will ship Oct. 1. The Paperwhite with 3G capabilities will sell for $179 U.S. The company also dropped the price of its low-end Kindle to $69 from $79 U.S.
Shares of Walgreen were lower after the company reported disappointing August sales.
Corporate results are due after the bell Thursday from apparel company Quiksilver and gunmaker Smith & Wesson
Speaking after a meeting of top ECB officials in Frankfurt, the central bank's president, Mario Draghi, reiterated his pledge to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro and said the ECB is prepared to make "outright monetary transactions," or OMTs, in the secondary market for euro area government bonds.
The move is aimed at Spain and Italy, which struggled with unsustainable borrowing costs earlier this year.
Investors hope Thursday's data is a preview of what the U.S. employment picture looks like ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report.
The government is expected to report Friday that employers added 120,000 jobs in August, according to economists. Investors will be paying especially close attention to Friday's jobs report, since it will likely influence the Federal Reserve's decision on whether it will announce more quantitative easing at the conclusion of its next meeting on Sept. 12-13.
Economically speaking, employment in the U.S. non-farm private business sector increased by 201,000 from July to August, according to ADP's National Employment Report. The estimated gain from June to July was revised up, from the initial estimate of 163,000 to a revised estimate of 173,000.
The numbers blew past expectations, as economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast an increase of 143,000 jobs.
Another upbeat report showed that jobless claims decreased to 365,000 during the week ending September 1, down 12,000 from the previous week's revised 377,000 figure, according to the U.S. Labor Department. This is less than the 373,000 claims that were expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
These jobs numbers follow a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed more than 32,000 planned job cuts in August -- fewer layoffs than were announced in July.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of activity in the service sector increased to 53.7 in August from 52.6 in July. The index was expected to come in at 52.4, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 1.67% from Wednesday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices for September delivery dipped 37 cents to $94.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained $11.60 to settle at $1,705.60 U.S. an ounce.
