Toronto stocks moved back into positive territory Thursday as commodities bounced back from yesterday's slump to push resource stocks higher.
Investors also considered the Bank of Canada's decision to leave its key interest rate at a record-low 0.25% on Thursday, as expected.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rocketed up 202.30 points or 2% to finish at 10,492.42.
Mining stocks were stronger as copper turned notably higher on the Comex. HudBay jumped 7.6%, Teck Cominco surged 8%, Inmet added 5.8% and First-Quantum is up 2%.
Energy stocks jumped as crude oil gained on the NYMEX. Petro-Canada shares were up 4.8% after the company's stockholders approved a $19-billion merger deal with Suncor. Shareholders of Suncor, which is up 5.1%, are also expected to vote today.
Other stocks on the rise included Canadian Oil Sands, which has added 3.7% and Canadian Natural Resources is up 2.2%.
Crescent Point Energy Trust has gained 3.1% after the stock was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" by UBS.
The Canadian dollar gained 1.01 cents to 91.14 cents U.S. after taking a huge hit Wednesday when a bout of strength in the U.S. dollar helped sent the dollar down 2.29 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 13 TSX subgroups, 11 were in positive territory, led upwards by metals and mining stocks, up 4.8%, followed by energy stocks, ahead 2.9%. Materials were up 2.8%.
The two laggards consisted of consumer staples, down 0.7%, and real-estate, off 0.1%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 25.20 points to end the day at 1,133.16 while the Nasdaq Canada Index went higher by 17.74 points to 786.80.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rallied Thursday, led by energy, financial and tech shares, as investors welcomed signs of improvement in the labor market ahead of the big monthly jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials average gained back 74.86 points to conclude the day’s session 8,750.24.
The S&P 500 index improved 10.70 points to 942.46, while the Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 24.10 points, to 1,850.02.
Stocks rallied in March and April on bets that the economy is closer to stabilizing. But now that expectations have risen, investors are looking for more concrete evidence.
That anticipation limited stock gains through most of May. However, with Thursday’s higher close, Wall Street will have posted gains in five of the last six sessions.
Oil prices surged, along with the underlying stocks, after Goldman Sachs boosted its 2009 crude forecast to $85 U.S. a barrel and issued a 2010 forecast of $95 U.S. per barrel.
Bank shares advanced as well, lifting the 24-share KBW Bank index by 4.3%. Regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp said it sold $1 billion U.S. of common stock and is on track to raise more than the $1.1 billion U.S. federal regulators have said it must as a result of the "stress tests." Shares gained 7%.
May retail sales likely fell around 4.1%, according to Thomson Reuters, versus a gain of 1.1% a year ago.
Among the standouts, Gap said sales fell 6% while Abercrombie & Fitch said sales fell 28%. Both stocks tumbled.
No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart which no longer issues monthly sales results and is therefore not included in the index, said it will hire over 22,000 people this year to work at its new or expanded U.S. stores. Shares were little changed.
Intel will buy software maker Wind River for $884 million U.S. in cash, or $11.50 U.S. per share, a premium of more than 40% over Wind River's Wednesday closing price. Shares of Intel gained 1%, while Wind River rose 44%.
The Labor Department's report on jobless claims showed a slight slip to 621,000 in the week ended May 30 from the revised 625,000 in the prior week. The figure was close to the 620,000 projected by a consensus of economists compiled by Briefing.com.
Also, continuing claims declined for the first time since January.
A revised reading on productivity showed an increase of 1.6% for the first quarter, compared to an initial reading of a 0.8% rise. This was higher than the revised gain of 1.2% expected by Briefing.com consensus.
Most May sales reports showed that the U.S. consumer continues to struggle, with improvements in sentiment not yet resulting in renewed buying.
Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.69% from 3.54% Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
U.S. light crude oil for July delivery rose $2.69 U.S. to settle at $68.71 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose $16.70 U.S. to settle at $982.30 U.S. an ounce.
