The Toronto stock market was higher Friday after worries about the future of U.S. economic stimulus had driven the TSX lower over the previous two sessions.
The S&P/TSX composite index progressed 48.72 points to pause at noon at 12,688.89
The Canadian dollar fell 0.40 to 97.79 cents U.S.
The base metals sector was up while March copper was down two cents at $3.53 U.S. a pound after losing almost 10 cents over the previous two sessions. First Quantum Minerals gained 37 cents to $19.10.
The energy sector also gained ground and Cenovus Energy improved by 35 cents to $32.72.
Lift was also provided by the financial sector as traders look ahead to earnings from most of the big Canadian banks next week. Scotiabank was up 57 cents to $60.49.
Telecoms also advanced with Rogers Communications ahead 72 cents to $48.89.
The gold sector was lost much of its early momentum, as Iamgold Corp. fell 23 cents to $7.62 while Goldcorp Inc. rose 18 cents to $33.09.
After the markets closed, fertilizer giant Agrium Inc., reported quarterly net earnings of $354 million, or $2.34 per share, beating expectations of $2.02 a share. Sales were $3.26 billion, in line with expectations and its shares fell $6.87 or 6.3% to $101.88.
The company is embroiled in a proxy fight with its largest shareholder, Jana Partners LLC, which holds a 6.5% stake in Agrium. It wants Agrium to split its retail division, which sells seeds, fertilizers and other products to farmers, from its wholesale segment.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us this morning that consumer prices rose 0.5% in the 12 months to January, following a 0.8% increase in December. The agency also reported that, on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index decreased 0.1% in January after posting no change in December.
What’s more, retail sales ended a five-month winning streak by declining 2.1% in December. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales decreased 0.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.11 points to 1,142.08
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground by noon, led by the metals and mining group, up 1.4%, while energy took on 0.9% and telecoms beamed ahead 0.6%.
The two laggards were information technology, down 0.4%, and materials, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks bounced back Friday on the heels of better-than-expected results from Hewlett-Packard and AIG.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average restored 74.75 points to break for lunch at 13,955.40
The S&P 500 index gained 7.51 points to 1,509.93. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite regained 17.58 points to 3,149.07
Friday's gains follow two days of selling that marked the biggest two-day drop for U.S. stocks this year.
All three indexes are on track for their worst week of 2013. A pullback is not unusual though, given how well the market has done so far this year. Investors rushed back into stocks at the beginning of the year, and continue to add money to the U.S. stock market, but at a much more tempered pace.
Despite the recent losses, the Dow is still up nearly 6% since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 has gained 5% and the NASDAQ is up almost 4%.
Hewlett-Packard was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 Friday, rising 10% after HP reported better-than-expected results late Thursday.
HP's first-quarter profit fell 11% from a year ago, and sales declined 6%, but expectations were so low that the figures easily trumped forecasts.
AIG also reported better-than-expected earnings late Thursday, pushing the stock up 2%.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were higher, pushing yields down to 1.97% from Thursday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took off 11 cents to $92.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $5.50 to $1,573.10 U.S. an ounce.
