Stock markets advanced again Wednesday, building on the gains of the previous session amid rising optimism that China’s growth targets will be met and data showing the American economy slowly recovering.
The S&P/TSX composite index reached noon Wednesday positive by 80.57 points to 12,816.61
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.04 cents at 96.93 cents U.S.
The TSX is still 15% shy of its record close of 15,073, set in June 2008.
The gold sector was ahead as Goldcorp Inc. improved by $1.28 to $34.18.
The tech sector ran up with BlackBerry gaining 67 cents to $13.57 after the smartphone company secured the second major supply contract this week for its new BlackBerry Z10 devices.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based firm said that a mental-health organization based in the United Kingdom has ordered 1,800 of the touchscreen phones that will be delivered throughout the year.
Open Text rose $1.07 to $59.07 after Canada’s largest publicly traded software company announced it has acquired Resonate Knowledge Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Open Text says the two companies have about 500 customers in common in 20 countries and that Resonate KT’s software helps users to easily visualize unstructured data.
The base metals component was up with May copper contract in New York was down two cents at $3.49 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources was up 59 cents to $31.12.
The energy sector rose Suncor Energy climbed 37 cents to $31.22.
Talisman Energy Inc. shares added 41 cents to $12.95 after it said it is planning a further $2.3 billion of dispositions or joint ventures over the next 12 to 18 months, including marketing some of its assets in western Canada.
Elsewhere on the earnings front, media company Torstar Corp. had $24.1 million of net income or 30 cents a share in the fourth quarter, down about 62 per cent from a year earlier as it felt the impact of falling revenue at its media and book businesses.
Adjusted earnings came in at 49 cents a share. Torstar missed analyst estimates of 53 cents for net and adjusted earnings. Revenue of $395.7 million also missed expectations for $413.65 million and its shares fell 69 cents or 8.7% to $7.23.
Dorel Industries Inc. says its fourth quarter net income was $29.1 million U.S., up 6.4% from a year earlier. The profit amounted to 91 cents U.S. per diluted share, 21 cents above the consensus estimate.
The Montreal-based maker of child car seats, juvenile furniture and bicycles says its revenue was up 10.9% to $622.6 million, beating the consensus analyst estimate by about $30 million. Dorel shares ran ahead $2.71 or 7.15 per cent to $40.61.
On the economic slate, the Bank of Canada said this morning that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 ¼%and the deposit rate is three quarters of 1%
Moreover, the Ivey Purchasing Managers’ Index came in during February at 51.10, down from 58.90 in January and down from 66.50 in February 2012.
This is a change of -13.2% from last month and -23.2% from one year ago. Any reading over 50 indicates expansion in purchases, below 50, contraction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 5.73 points to 1,106.50
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive, led by gold, up 2.9%, materials, ahead 2.3%, and the metals and mining group, advancing 1.9%.
The three laggards were health-care, off 0.7%, while financials and real-estate each shrank 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
One day after hitting an all-time high, the Dow continued to march higher Wednesday, as investors welcomed signs of strength in the U.S. job market.
The Dow Jones Industrials was off the highs of the day, but still positive 24.06 points to break for lunch at 14,277.80.
The S&P 500 index retreated 0.83 points to 1,538.96. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite stepped back 4.16 points to 3,219.97.
The Dow closed at a record high Tuesday, climbing more than 125 points to 14,253.77. It also set an intraday record of 14,286.37. Both prior records were set in October 2007.
Also Tuesday, the S&P 500 finished at its highest level since October 2007 and is now only about 1.3% away from its record closing high.
In corporate news, office supply company Staples reported a 3% increase in fourth-quarter sales but trimmed its outlook. That sent shares down about 6%.
Shares of Hovnanian fell 6% after the homebuilder said it lost $11.3 million U.S., or eight cents per share, in the most recent quarter. That was worse than expected. Despite the latest results, Hovnanian said it expects to return to profitability this year.
Also, the European Union fined Microsoft €561 million, or about $730 million U.S, for failing to provide users of Windows 7 with a choice of Internet browser.
Shares of Smith & Wesson declined, despite the gun maker's strong third quarter earnings.
J.C. Penney's shares extended Tuesday's decline on news that one of its biggest shareholders dumped 40% of its stake. The Wall Street Journal also reported that some shareholders may start pushing for a new CEO if sales continue to slide.
The struggling retailer is in the third week of a court battle with Macy's, which claims that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia violated a previous agreement by entering into a new partnership with J.C. Penney.
On the economic front Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report showed that private-sector employment increased by 198,000 jobs in February. That was much better than the expected increase of 150,000.
Also, at 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book report on economic conditions.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.93% from Tuesday’s 1.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 87 cents to $89.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained four dollars to $1,578.90 U.S. an ounce.
