The Toronto stock market was higher Wednesday after a big chunk of uncertainty was removed from Europe’s efforts to solve a debt crisis that has been dragging on for almost three years.
The S&P/TSX Composite index held onto 9.78 points worth of gain to greet noon at 12,230.23
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.28 cents at 102.47 cents U.S.
Industrials led TSX gainers as transport giant Bombardier Inc. gained 12 cents to $3.69.
Commodity prices were mixed as traders hoped that the court decision and the European Central Bank’s bond-buying plan — which is intended to ease borrowing rates for the hardest-hit members of the euro-zone — will help Europe get out of a severe economic slump and raise demand.
The base metals sector gained while copper prices backed off slightly after rallying for the past three sessions with the December contract down one cent to $3.68 U.S. a pound. The metal, viewed as an economic barometer as it is used in so many applications, has run up 18 cents over the last three sessions.
First Quantum Minerals climbed 21 cents to $22.81 while Thompson Creek Metals gained six cents to $3.28.
The energy component improved with Canadian Natural Resources ahead 23 cents to $32.41 and Cenovus Energy up 40 cents to $34.42.
Among gold issues, Barrick Gold Corp. was 30 cents higher to $38.10.
In corporate news, the power struggle between the board of Telus Corp. and New York hedge fund Mason Capital Management LLC appears headed for an appeal court.
Mason says it will appeal a B.C. court decision that blocks it from holding a shareholders meeting for investors with Telus voting stock, a move that rivals the company’s own plans for a meeting of all voting and non-voting shareholders.
Telus and Mason are in a bitter public battle over a plan to eliminate the Canadian telecom company’s dual-class share structure.
Mason opposes a Telus plan that would swap non-voting stock for common stock on a one-to-one basis, arguing that doesn’t recognize the greater market value of the voting shares.
Telus voting shares advanced 64 cents to $61.82 while its non-voting A shares gained 48 cents to $61.53.
Dollarama Inc. had a net profit of $49.8 million in its second quarter, up 32% from the comparable period last year. Dollarama’s revenue was up 13.8%, rising to $441 million from $387.5 million for the corresponding period last year. The profit amounted to 66 cents per diluted share, two cents higher than analyst forecasts but its shares fell 65 cents to $58.65.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 9.78 points to 1,276.76
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained positive, led by health-care issues, up 1%, industrials, up 0.6%, and real-estate, up 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by metals and mining issues, which lost 0.8%, consumer staples, off 0.7%, and materials, down 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday after a German court backed Europe's latest rescue fund and as investors look forward to the possibility of the U.S. Federal Reserve announcing another round of quantitative easing.
The Dow Jones Industrial average remained positive 21.99 points to stop for lunch at 13,345.30
The S&P 500 index gained 3.57 points, to 1,437.13, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 4.69 points to 3,109.22.
All indices gained following a critical decision by Germany's Constitutional Court. The court dismissed complaints on the legality of the European Stability Mechanism, a permanent bailout fund that's expected to have a maximum lending capacity of €500 billion.
Bank stocks initially got a lift from the expectations of another round of quantitative easing, with Citigroup jumping nearly 2%. But Citi, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all pared their gains as the morning wore on.
In other corporate news, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 5 at an event later Wednesday. Shares of the company were higher as investors awaited the announcement.
Facebook shares rose more than 5%, a day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg made his first public interview since the company's IPO.
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Zuckerberg said he was disappointed by the stock's performance and pledged to stick to Facebook's mission.
Chesapeake Energy agreed to sell most of its properties in the Permian Basin in West Texas for roughly $6.9 billion U.S. The natural gas company will sell the Delaware Basin portion to Royal Dutch Shell in a deal valued just below $2 billion U.S. Chevron and Global Infrastructure Partners will also buy portions of the acreage.
On things economic, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that import prices rose 0.7% in August, after declining 0.7% the prior month. Export prices rose 0.9% in August, after rising 0.4% the prior month. The government also reported that total inventories rose 0.7% in July.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell with a thud, boosting yields to 1.74% from Tuesday’s 1.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices for September delivery inched up two cents to $97.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained just three cents to $1,735.20 U.S. an ounce.
