Toronto's main index rallied to a fresh seven-month high on Thursday, boosted by higher commodity prices. Financials also gained amid a slew of earnings from the big banks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 253.14 points or 2.5% to finish at 10,395.30. The index enjoyed its best finish since October 6.
Gold stocks gained, as Agnico-Eagle Mines climbed 6.2%, Seabridge was up 3.7%, Eldorado climbed 6.8% and Royal Gold was up 3.25%.
Financials were up as better-than-forecast earnings reports from Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion and National Bank have outweighed a wider second-quarter loss for CIBC.
Bank of Nova Scotia was up 0.4% to $37.91 after it became the fifth of the big banks to report earnings this week and the fourth today. The lender said net income for the second quarter was $821 million or $0.81 per share, down from $958 million or $0.97 per share in the prior year quarter.
Toronto-Dominion added 7% to $53.82 after it reported net income for the second quarter was $577 million or $0.68 per share, compared to $841 million or $1.12 per share in the year ago quarter.
National Bank was up 3.8% to $51.38 after the company announced second-quarter net income of $261 million or $1.53 compared to $229 million or $1.41 in the second quarter of 2008.
Meanwhile, CIBC dropped 4.7% to $54.37 after revealing a second-quarter net loss of $90 million or $0.24, compared to a loss of $1.41 billion or $3.00 in the year-ago quarter.
Royal Bank is expected to report its quarterly earnings tomorrow. Bank of Montreal announced earnings on Tuesday morning.
Energy stocks were up as crude oil has surged above $65 U.S. following Energy Information report showing a larger-than-expected drop in stockpiles.
Among the big names, Canadian Natural Resources added 4.7% to $64.64. Canadian Oil Sands was up 4.6% to $27.88 and Suncor added 4.5% to $38.78.
In other corporate news, the Globe and Mail reported Air Canada could see its pension payment soar to $225 billion after an underpayment in the first quarter.
Descartes Systems Group added 9% to $4.25 after the transportation supply company reported first quarter net income of $2.21 million U.S. or $0.04 U.S. per share, compared to $1.05 million U.S. or $0.02 U.S. per share in the same quarter of last year.
Garda World Security has climbed 6.1% to $3.82 after announcing first-quarter revenues rose to $279.2 million from $263.6 million in the same period last year. EPS fell to $0.08 from $0.14.
Nortel Networks Corp. is down 2.3% to 21 cents after the telecom equipment maker said Wednesday that it will seek a buyer for its majority stake in LG-Nortel, the company's South Korean joint venture with LG Electronics.
Earlier, the Globe and Mail reported Canadian governments may spend more than $13 billion on bailouts of beleaguered automakers General Motors and Chrysler.
Meanwhile, the earnings for the average Canadian employee climbed 2.4% year-over-year in the month of March.
The Canadian dollar added 0.24 cents, to 89.66 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 13 TSX subgroups, 10 were positive. Gold had the biggest gain, at 4%, energy stocks were up 3.6%, and metals and mining advanced 3%.
The three losing groups were utilities and health-care stocks, down 0.7% each, and industrials, sliding less than 0.1%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 12.17 points at 1,105.16 while the Nasdaq Canada Index climbed 26.72 points to 765.16.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials average recovered from earlier losses to finish 103.78 points ahead to 8.403.80.
The S&P 500 index grew 13.77 points to 906.83, while the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 20.71 points, to 1,751.79.
Oil prices rose above $65 a barrel. ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Chevron all posted gains.
Bank stocks also rose, with Goldman Sachs up 3% and JPMorgan rising 5%.
Auto parts supplier Visteon filed for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. operations. The company, a major supplier to Ford, has been hit hard by the sharp decline in demand for cars.
Media powerhouse Time Warner announced that it would separate itself from online service company AOL. Time Warner said AOL would be spun into a separate publicly traded company.
GM shares rose after the troubled automaker said major bondholders have accepted a revised deal to swap debt for equity. However, the deal does not mean that the company will avoid filing for bankruptcy, which could happen at the end of this week if certain other restructuring efforts fail.
After the closing bell, personal computer maker Dell was expected to report first-quarter earnings of 23 cents U.S. per share, down from 38 cents U.S. per share a year ago.
On the economic front, new home sales in April rose 0.3% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 352,000 from a revised rate of 351,000 the month before, according to government figures.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected an April sales rate of 360,000, while March sales were originally reported at a 356,000 rate.
The U.S. Department of Labor revealed that initial jobless claims came in at 623,000 for the week ended May 23. This was down 13,000 from a revised mark of 636,000 in the previous week.
Meanwhile, a Commerce Department report showed that durable goods orders jumped 1.9% in April following a downwardly revised 2.1% decrease in March. Economists had expected orders to edge up 0.5% compared to the 0.8% drop that had been reported for the previous month.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.7% from 3.6% earlier Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
NYMEX crude oil for July delivery rose $1.63 to settle at $65.08 U.S. a barrel, after climbing to a high of $65.35. The rally came after the government said U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected last week.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose $8.20 an ounce to $961.50 U.S.
