Mining and energy stocks have led Toronto's main index toward its highest closing since in more than eight months. The Bay Street market has followed the lead of U.S. and European stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 116.13 points or 1.1% Thursday to 10,714.11. The reached its highest intraday level since October 6.
The mining index added to its recent gains. First Quantum is up 2.8%, Teck Cominco has added 3% and HudBay is up 4.4%.
Crude oil prices have added strength as Baytex Energy Trust is up 2.4%, Canadian Oil Sands has added 2.9%, Canadian Natural Resources is up 3% and Encana has added 1.6%.
TransCanada Corp. is up 2.2% after the company announced that the company and ExxonMobil have reached an agreement to work together on an Alaska gas pipeline.
Tech stocks are up as Research in Motion is up 2%. The Blackberry maker saw its first quarter and full year estimates increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. RIM is now expected to earn $0.96 per share in the quarter, up from $0.88, according to Bloomberg. Full-year expectations jumped to $4.06, up from $3.71.
In corporate news, Telus Corp. has gained 1.4% after the telecommunications carrier said it plans to invest more than $250 million this year in the Quebec province, for advancing its broadband infrastructure. The investment is also expected to support more than 750 jobs.
Bank of Montreal announced a definitive agreement to purchase the recordkeeping business of Integra GRS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Integra Capital Management Corp. BMO stock was up 0.2%.
Xceed Mortgage Corp. has declined 7.1% as the company reported second quarter net income of $46,000 or breakeven per share, compared to a loss of $16.67 million or $0.60 per share in the same quarter of last year. Revenues for the quarter were $3.76 million, compared to $4.82 million in the prior-year quarter.
lululemon athletica has dropped 11.5% after the apparel maker reported first-quarter net income of $6.52 million or $0.09 per share, compared to $8.48 million or $0.12 per share last year.
MDS turned higher, showing a 2% gain. The company reported a second-quarter net loss of $17 million U.S. or $0.15 U.S. per share, compared to profit of $13 million U.S. or $0.11 U.S. per share in the year-ago quarter.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported industries operated at 69.3% of production capacity, down 5.6 percentage points from the previous quarter. It was the first time that industrial capacity use fell below the 70% level since the start of the data series in 1987.
The Canadian dollar was 0.14 cents stronger to 90.68 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 13 TSX subgroups, 11 were higher. Metals and mining stocks were the big winners, ahead 4.4%, information technology up 2.1% and financials, ahead 2%.
The two laggards were telecoms, off 1%, while gold settled 0.6%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 5.93 points to 1,148.32 while the Nasdaq Canada Index went higher by 18.31 points to 817.07
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks gained Thursday, with the Dow turning positive for the year, as a rise in retail sales and a bigger-than-expected dip in jobless claims raised hopes that the pace of the recession is slowing.
The Dow Jones Industrials average advanced 31.90 points to end the day at 8,770.92, reaching its highest point since Jan. 7, and was to within sight of the 2008 closing level of 8,776.39. The S&P 500 index added 5.74 points, to 944.89 touching the highest point since Nov. 5.
The Nasdaq composite climbed 9.29 points, to 1,862.37, after touching the highest point since Oct. 14.
Stocks have been on the rise since bottoming March 9, with the Dow up over 30%, the S&P 500 up almost 40% and the Nasdaq up around 45%.
But stocks have seesawed this week after rising Treasury yields and higher commodity prices sparked worries about inflation hampering a burgeoning recovery. Thursday restarted the advance.
On the economic front, the U.S. government reported that retail sales rose 0.5% in May, as expected in a consensus forecast from Briefing.com, after falling a revised 0.2% the prior month.
Initial jobless claims fell 24,000 to 601,000 in the week ending June 6, the government said.
Claims were expected to have slipped slightly to 615,000, according to the Briefing.com consensus forecast.
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis was testifying before lawmakers about the government's role in ensuring that the bank complete its controversial merger with Merrill Lynch.
New e-mails added more insight into the heated talks and indicate the Federal Reserve strong-armed BofA into completing the deal last year.
A comparatively strong 30-year bond auction Thursday helped temper worries about pricing pressures, at least in the short term.
Treasury prices jumped, lowering the corresponding yields. The benchmark 10-year note yield fell to 3.87%, down from 4% early Thursday morning. The yield touched 4% during Wednesday's session for the first time since last October.
U.S. light crude oil for July delivery rose $1.35 to settle at $72.68 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for August delivery rose $7.30 to settle at $962 U.S. an ounce.
