The Toronto stock market closed higher as the latest comments from U.S. political leaders raised hopes for an agreement to head off a fiscal crisis in the United States.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was in the green 28.70 points to close Wednesday at 12,140.33
The Canadian dollar tacked on 0.10 cents to 100.80 cents U.S.
The TSX had initially tumbled more than 100 points, extending the losses from Tuesday, which had been triggered by comments from
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He said there had been "little progress" in talks to avoid going over the fiscal cliff.
The turnaround on the TSX was led by a gain in the mining sector as December copper also pared early sharp losses to close one cent lower to $3.52 (U.S.) a pound. Lundin Mining rose 25 cents to $5.28.
Inmet Mining Corp. is rejecting an unsolicited takeover offer worth $4.9 billion by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. The miner says First Quantum offered 50% of the deal’s value, or up to $2.46 billion, in cash and the other 50% in the Vancouver miner’s shares. Inmet shares soared $9.20 or 17.42% to $9.20 while First Quantum lost 34 cents to $20.80.
The gold sector also turned positive as Centerra Gold advanced 26 cents to $9.32 while Goldcorp Inc. improved by 36 cents to $39.31.
The energy sector rose as Canadian Natural Resources gained 32 cents to $28.24.
Imperial Oil shares were up 47 cents to $42.98 as it said it will invest $1.55 billion to acquire a half interest in the assets of Celtic Exploration Ltd. The Calgary-based company is currently in the process of being fully acquired by Imperial parent ExxonMobil Canada Ltd., which announced a $3.1-billion bid for Celtic in October. Celtic shares were unchanged at $26.
Utilities were among TSX losers with TransAlta Corp. down 51 cents to $14.91.
The tech sector was also negative but Research In Motion Ltd. shares turned positive, up 30 cents to $11 on volume of 8.4 million shares. The stock had been lower amid word that it had lost a contract dispute over the use of Nokia patents.
A Swedish arbitrator has ruled that RIM breached a contract between the companies and is not entitled to manufacture or sell wireless local access network (WLAN) products without first reaching a royalties agreement with Nokia.
Elsewhere in the tech sector, CGI Group Inc. dropped 93 cents to $23.12 as the company posted a net loss of just under $170 million or 58 cents per diluted share in the latest quarter, compared with a profit of $69.6 million or 26 cents per share in the year-earlier period.
Revenue rose to $1.61 billion from just over $1 billion in the fiscal 2011 quarter. Ex-items, the company said it would have had net earnings of $100 million or 37 cents per share, down from 39 cents per share a year earlier.
In other corporate news, shares in Quebec-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin fell 92 cents to $39.99 after the province’s anti-corruption squad arrested former CEO Pierre Duhaime, on charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and use of false documents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.80 points to 1,205.37
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers. Metals and mining shot up 1.8%, while global base metals prospered 0.8% and consumer staples picked up 0.7%.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by health-care stocks, down 1.2%, utilities sank 1% and real-estate faded 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks ended on a high note Wednesday as investors welcomed comments from President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner on the fiscal cliff negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrials advanced 106.98 points to 12,985.11. The index was supported by shares of HP and American Express Co, which both gained more than 1%.
The S&P 500 moved 10.99 points higher to 1,409.93 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 23.99 points to 2,991.78.
Trading has been choppy recently as investors react to political developments in Washington, where lawmakers and the White House have been at loggerheads over a slew of year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.
President Obama renewed his call for Congress to pass a bill he says would provide a tax break for middle-class Americans, saying he's "confident" an agreement to avert the crisis will be reached before Christmas.
In corporate news, big box retailer Costco announced a special dividend, which will pay shareholders a total of $3 billion U.S. on Dec. 18. Shares rose 6%.
Costco becomes the latest company to move dividend payments to calendar year 2012 as taxes on payments to shareholders are set to rise on Jan. 1, due to the fiscal cliff. Costco rival Wal-Mart is also speeding up those payments.
Shares of Knight Capital surged 15% after the troubled broker-dealer received a buyout offer from rival and partial owner Getco.
The Fresh Market stock plunged to a six-month low after the specialty grocer missed earnings expectations and announced that its CFO will step down next month.
American Eagle shares were up 7% after the apparel retailer reported strong quarterly results before the market open.
After the market closed, rival Aeropostale said it earned 31 cents per share in the third quarter, topping analysts' expectations for 29 cents.
On the economic front, the government said October new home sales fell 0.3% from the month before, although sales were up 17.2% versus October of last year.
The Federal Reserve said economic activity across the central bank's 12 districts expanded at a "measured pace" in recent weeks, according to the latest edition of its Beige Book. The report also said contacts in several Fed districts are concerned about the fiscal cliff.
Treasury prices gained ground, driving yields down to 1.62% from Tuesday’s 1.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 59 cents to $86.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices plummeted $23.30 an ounce to $1,719.30 U.S.
