The Toronto stock market was higher Tuesday as positive inflation data from China boosted resource stocks while traders gave a cool reception to earnings from aluminum giant Alcoa Inc.
The S&P/TSX index strengthened 136.26 points, or 1.1%, by noon to 12,480.82
The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 cents at 98.38 cents U.S.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, BlackBerry shares were up 13 cents to $15.03 as presales of its BlackBerry Q10, a new generation model with a physical keyboard, have begun at Canadian carriers Rogers and Telus.
Elsewhere, Bombardier Inc. shares were five cents higher to $4.05 after The Wall Street Journal reported that Toronto-based Porter Airlines is preparing to announce an order for up to 30 CSeries jets from the Montreal-based transport company.
It says Porter, which currently uses only Bombardier turboprop planes in its fleet, signed a letter of intent with Bombardier in December. Porter said Tuesday that it will hold a news conference to announce growth plans Wednesday in Toronto.
Copper was up six cents to $3.43 U.S. a pound, taking the base metals sector up. Teck Resources climbed $1.12 to $29.12.
The gold sector was up as Barrick Gold Corp. gained 76 cents to $27.52.
The energy sector drifted higher as Suncor Energy rose 52 cents to $29.46.
The financials sector was also higher and TD Bank advanced 88 cents to $81.59.
SNC-Lavalin was up 20 cents to $43.20 after it said its jointly owned Saudi engineering company, SNC-Lavalin Fayez Engineering, has been awarded a contract to work on a new refining and petrochemical facility in the Middle Eastern country. No financial details were provided.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that municipalities issued building permits worth $6.0 billion in February, up 1.7% from January.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts in Canada were trending at 189,742 units in March, with the standalone monthly Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate at 184,028 units in March, up slightly from 183,207 in February.
Abroad, official data showing March consumer prices in China rose at a less-than-expected rate of 2.1% from the year-ago month.
The increase was markedly lower than the 3.2% inflation recorded in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 7.98 points to 1,049.37
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by noon ET. Metals and mining soared 4.1%, while gold streaked 3.6% and global base metals gained 3.2%.
Health-care stocks proved the lone loser, fading 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks struggled to hold onto modest gains Tuesday, amid a smattering of corporate news.
The Dow Jones Industrials picked up 29.69 points, to 14,643.20
The S&P 500 index gained 1.74 points to 1,564.81. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite eked ahead 4.29 points to 3,226.54
J.C. Penney shares tumbled, a day after the retailer announced that it was replacing CEO Ron Johnson with his predecessor, Mike Ullman. More than 35 million shares of the retailer had traded by 10:30 a.m. ET -- roughly three times the volume traded on an entire day.
Herbalife announced that KPMG is resigning as its auditor, because of an alleged insider trading in Herbalife's securities by one of KPMG's former partners. Shares of Herbalife have been halted all day.
Shares of Skechers were also halted, pending news.
U.S. corporate earnings remain a major wildcard.
Alcoa kicked off the unofficial start of earnings season late Monday.
The aluminum producer, which beat analysts' earnings expectations, is often considered a proxy for corporate results since it's typically the first Dow component to report.
Over the past 10 years, when Alcoa beat earnings estimates, the S&P 500 rose an average 4.4% during the following three months, according to FactSet, which forecast overall earnings growth to contract 0.6%.
Mega-banks JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are set to release quarterly results later this week.
Over the past 10 years, when Alcoa beat earnings estimates, the S&P 500 rose an average 4.4% during the following three months, according to FactSet, which forecast overall earnings growth to contract 0.6%.
After this year's strong run, most analysts expect investors to periodically tap on the brakes. All three major indexes have rallied 8% to 12% since January, and the Dow and S&P 500 have both set new record highs this month.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.74% from Monday’s 1.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 47 cents to $93.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sprang up to $1,589.60
