The Toronto stock market built Wednesday on Tuesday’s gains as commodities prices strengthened alongside a round of U.S. earnings reports that gave traders further confidence.
The S&P/TSX composite index was in the green 35.39 points to approach noon at 12,443.09
The Canadian dollar regained 0.74 cents to 102.10 cents U.S.
Canadian affiliates of U.S. energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. have agreed to buy Celtic Exploration Ltd. of Calgary in a transaction valued at $3.1 billion, including assumed debt and spending obligations.
Celtic’s shareholders are being offered $24.50 per share and a half-share of a new company, code-named Spinco, in return for each share. Celtic’s stock closed Tuesday at $18.12 on the Toronto Stock Exchange before the announcement. The news sent Celtic shares over the moon, gaining $8.14 early afternoon, or 44.9%, to $26.35.
Also in Canada's energy sector, Penn West Petroleum Ltd. has agreed in principle to sell $1.3 billion worth of its non-core properties, representing the equivalent of 12,000 barrels per day of production. Details weren't disclosed. Penn West shares broke for lunch ahead 28 cents, or 2.1%, to $13.94
In corporate earnings, PotashCorp says its profit this year will fall short of expectations following delays in reaching contracts with fertilizer buyers in China and India. It says that earnings for the full 2012 financial year will fall below even the lowest previous estimate of $2.80 to $3.20 per share. Potash shares regained 10 cents to $41.14 by noon.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.04 points to 1,302.82
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher midday, led by global base metals, up 1.3%, while energy stocks climbed 1.1% and materials were 0.3% better.
The four laggards were weighed by industrials and the metals and mining sectors, off 0.4%, while information technology was off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks in the U.S. were little changed Wednesday, as investors took in new housing market data and another batch of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial average dipped 7.54 points to 13,544.20
The S&P 500 gained 4.96 points to 1,459.88, while the tech-rich Nasdaq stayed positive 9.46 points to 3,110.64
Early Wednesday, Bank of America reported third-quarter earnings that beat forecasts, citing improved lending and deposits.
It's been a good quarter for banks so far. JPMorgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo all topped expectations.
Not all corporate news was good news. Disappointing PC sales dragged chip maker Intel's profits and sales lower, disappointing investors. And IBM's revenue miss pressured Big Blue's stock.
Economically speaking, U.S. housing starts, which tally the number of new homes under construction, climbed 15% to an annual rate of 872,000 in September, according to the Census Bureau.
That’s a four-year high, surpassing what economists had expected. Building permits for future construction also rose to the highest level in more than four years.
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury plummeted, hiking the yield to 1.79% from Tuesday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sifted off nine cents to $92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were up $6.90 to $1,753.20 U.S. an ounce.
