The Toronto stock market strengthened Thursday as resource sectors benefited from signs of a recovering Chinese manufacturing sector. But the market was held back by earnings disappointments in the telecom and mining sectors.
Overall market sentiment also got a lift from American data showing a better than expected reading for consumer confidence and strength in the U.S. manufacturing sector.
The S&P/TSX composite gained 76.85 points to conclude Thursday at 12,499.76
The Canadian dollar took on 0.33 cents to 100.33 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold Corp. weighed on the Toronto market, moving down $3.87 or 9.6% to $36.52. Barrick's third-quarter profit missed expectations as revenue fell amid lower gold prices.
Net income before adjustments fell to $620 million U.S. or 62 cents per share, less than half what Barrick earned at the same time last year. Its adjusted EPS was 85 cents per share, 15 cents short of expectations.
The telecom sector was also lower as BCE Inc. said its net income in the third quarter dropped to $569 million and adjusted net earnings fell to $588 million, or 76 cents per share. The adjusted EPS was a penny below estimates.
BCE's revenue was just under $5 billion, compared with about $4.9 billion a year earlier. Most of that came from Bell Canada, BCE's main subsidiary. BCE shares were down 53 cents to $43.13.
Metal prices advanced in the wake of the Chinese PMI data with December copper up four cents to $3.56 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector was ahead.
But shares in uranium miner Cameco fell 97 cents, or 5%, to $18.40 after it reported quarterly net earnings of $82 million or 21 cents per share, compared with $39 million or 10 cents per share for the same period a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings were $52 million or 13 cents per share compared with $104 million or 26 cents per share in 2011. Quarterly revenue came in at $408 million, compared to $527 million a year ago. Analysts expected profit of 27 cents per share and $562.3 million in revenue.
The energy sector climbed as Imperial Oil Ltd. said higher margins at its refineries were the main reason for a 21% jump in its third-quarter profit, handily beating analysts' expectations.
Net income rose to $1.04 billion or $1.22 per diluted share, compared to $859 million or $1.01 a share for the same period last year. Imperial says the increase was primarily due to higher margins at its refineries and its shares climbed $1.37 to $45.56.
In other corporate news, TransCanada Corp. plans to invest about $1 billion U.S. in a new natural gas pipeline in Mexico. The pipeline giant has been awarded a contract to build, own and operate the pipeline by Mexico's federal power company, the Commission Federal de Electricidad or CFE. Its shares were up 31 cents to $45.28.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 6.81 points to 1,321.29
All but three of 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by the closing bell. Metals and mining stocks charged ahead 4.4%, while health-care soared 3.2% and global base metals gained 3%.
Gold weighed most heavily on the three laggards, down 2.1%, while telecoms slid 0.4% and materials faded 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks started November with a strong rally Thursday, following mostly upbeat jobs reports. All three major indexes jumped more than 1%, as Wall Street continues to recover from a two-day trading suspension due to Superstorm Sandy.
The Dow Jones Industrials sprinted ahead 136.16 points, or 1.1%, Thursday to 13,232.60, while the S&P 500 moved higher by 15.43 to 1,427.59, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 42.83 points at 3,020.26
The corporate world was busy Thursday. Exxon Mobil reported better-than-expected earnings in the morning, while AIG, Starbucks, and LinkedIn are among the firms due to report after the closing bell.
In company news, Netflix shares retreated after a massive 14% runup Wednesday. The previous day's gains came after famed corporate raider Carl Icahn disclosed he bought a 10% stake in Netflix and strongly hinted he'd like a larger company to buy the streaming video and DVD service.
Japan-based Panasonic released an earnings report Thursday that was loaded with negative news. The electronics company posted a loss, dramatically lowered its forecast for the year, and announced it will suspend its dividend. Business conditions are expected to become "much more severe." Shares of the company declined.
Also in Japan, Sony reported a narrower loss for its fiscal second quarter and reaffirmed its full-year forecast for a swing to profit. Its U.S.-traded stock slipped.
Shares of Ford rose after the company announced that Alan Mulally would remain president and CEO through at least 2014, and named Mark Fields as chief operating officer.
Such gains came as investors parsed through a bevy of corporate and economic news, including planned job cuts, private sector job gains and initial unemployment claims. Those numbers are all a prelude to the government's monthly jobs report on Friday.
While outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported the number of planned job cuts surged to a five-month high in October, two other reports were positive.
Payroll processor ADP said U.S. private-sector employers added 158,000 jobs in October, which was above expectations, and weekly initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 363.000 last week, coming in lower than forecasts.
Economists are expecting the U.S. economy to have added 125,000 jobs in October, up from 114,000 the prior month. They're also expecting the unemployment rate to tick up to 7.9%, from 7.8% in September.
Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing activity continued to rebound in October, and the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to the highest level since February 2008. Construction spending increased in September by the most in three months, though the jump was slightly less than analysts were looking for.
Overseas, China's government reported earlier in the day that its official purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.2 in October from 49.8 the previous month. Any reading above 50 indicates that factory conditions are improving in the manufacturing sector.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising the yield to 1.71% from Wednesday’s 1.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 69 cents to $86.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $2.80 per ounce to $1,716.30 U.S.
