The Toronto stock market erased early losses to deliver a solid advance Thursday afternoon following a string of declines amid concerns about the role of central banks in supporting the economic recovery
The S&P/TSX Composite Index muscled its way higher by 167.24 points, or 1.4%, to conclude Thursday at 12,277.13, amid a stock upgrade for BlackBerry, acquisition news in the consumer sector and gains in defensive stocks that have been beaten down lately.
The Canadian dollar remained positive 0.48 cents to 98.41 cents U.S.
The tech sector was the leading percentage advancer, as BlackBerry improved by 83 cents, or 6%, to $14.70 after Societe Generale raised its rating on the stock to "buy" from "sell," saying channel checks show the Canadian smartphone maker's new devices are selling well.
The company earlier this year introduced the Z10, which has a touch-screen, and the Q10, which targets BlackBerry loyalists with a physical keyboard.
The consumer staples sector rose after Empire Company Ltd. and its main subsidiary, Sobeys Inc. announced Wednesday after the close that they are buying rival Canada Safeway Ltd. for $5.8 billion in cash. Empire shares jumped $7.16, or 10.6%, to $74.77.
Telecoms and utilities were also positive after registering sharp declines earlier in the week.
Speculation about cutting back on the QE program has had the effect of pushing U.S. Treasury yields sharply higher, which in turn has had a negative effect on TSX defensive/interest-rate sensitive sectors such as REITS, utilities, telecom and pipeline stocks.
Telus Corp. ran up $1.05 to $34.72 while Algonquin Power & Utilities rose 27 cents to $7.51.
Commodity prices were mixed and the base metals sector was the leading advancer, as July copper lost four cents to $3.18 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources was up 69 cents to $24.75.
Financials gained while TD Bank climbed $1.42 to $82.24.
The energy sector was ahead as Canadian Natural Resources was 48 cents higher at $29.48.
Among gold plays, Barrick Gold Corp. faded 17 cents to $20.02.
In other corporate news, shares in Transat A.T. Inc. ran up 73 cents or 13.8% to $6.04 as the travel company posted a net loss of $22.8 million or 59 cents per share in the quarter ended April 30.
On an adjusted after-tax basis, Transat lost $1.43 million or four cents per share, which was far better than the 26 cents per share loss estimated by analysts.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that its new housing price index rose 0.2% in April, following a 0.1% increase in March
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 1.86 points to 930.36
All 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, led by information technology, ahead 2.9%, metals and mining, up 2.8%, and consumer staples, positive by 2.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
All three U.S. stock indexes ticked higher as the trading day progressed.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 180.05 points, or 1.2%, to 15,176.10
The S&P 500 index took on 23.84 points to 1,636.36. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite moved higher 44.93 points to 3,445.36
In corporate news, shares of Gannett rallied after the newspaper publisher said it was buying Belo for $1.5 billion U.S., a deal that will significantly increase the number of television stations it owns. Shares of Belo were also higher, reflecting the 28% premium that the purchase price represents.
Shares of beauty products company Coty fell, after the company made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Coty raised $1 billion U.S. through an IPO that priced shares at $17.50 U.S. apiece.
Meanwhile, Safeway shares rose, after the grocery chain announced the sale of its Canadian operations to Sobeys for $5.68 billion U.S. Safeway said it will use the proceeds from the sale to pay down $2 billion U.S. in debt, buy back stock and support growth elsewhere.
Investors have become increasingly nervous about when the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks, particularly the Bank of Japan, will begin curtailing stimulus measures.
Still, investors saw some bright spots in the U.S. economy, after retail sales came in above expectations, and weekly jobless claims dipped more than forecast.
The 0.6% rise in retail sales -- the best reading since February --- was largely due to a jump in auto sales.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 2.17% from Wednesday’s 2.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were up 70 cents to $96.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $8.40 to $1,383.60 U.S. an ounce
