The Toronto stock market was higher Monday amid rising metal prices, while traders also looked to the kickoff of the second-quarter earnings season in the U.S. with results from resource giant Alcoa Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 60.49 points to approach noon at 12,195.40
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.05 cents to 94.53 cents U.S.
The TSX base metals sector advanced, while copper prices inched up a cent to $3.07 U.S. a pound after sliding 11 cents on Friday. First Quantum Minerals rose 21 cents to $15.56.
Financials also provided lift as Manulife Financial gained 36 cents to $17.66.
Prices have been particularly under pressure since late May when U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that the central bank could taper its program of bond purchases. Gold now is down more than 30 per cent from a peak of around $1,900 an ounce in September 2011.
The gold sector was up and Barrick Gold Corp. rose 14 cents to $14.71.
Railway stocks were lower amid questions being asked about the transporting of crude oil in the wake of a derailment over the weekend in Lac-Megantic, Que., that killed at least five people.
Canadian National Railway was down 59 cents to $102.87 and Canadian Pacific off eight cents to $127.13.
Speaking of things economic, Statistics Canada reported that building permits for May came in at $7.3 billion, up 4.5% from April, running their winning streak to five straight months
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 7.21 points to 877.06
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher at noon, led by utilities, up 1%, while materials and energy each gained 0.7%.
The four laggards were weighed by industrials and consumer staples, each down 0.2%, while real-estate issues dropped 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks jumped higher Monday, as investors bet that corporate earnings could help stocks prolong the 2013 market rally.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 69.61 points to 15,205.50
The S&P 500 index picked up 7.65 points to 1,639.54. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite ducked back 0.24 points to 3,479.14
Second-quarter earnings season kicks off after the close of trading with results from aluminum producer Alcoa -- a Dow Jones Industrial Average component, whose earnings investors watch as a first-look indicator of how companies fared in the past quarter.
Results are due later in the week from companies including Yum! Brands, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo
Shares of Asiana Airlines dropped in South Korean markets after a Boeing 777 crashed in San Francisco over the weekend. But the stock price for Boeing was little changed.
In economic news, the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to release its monthly report on consumer credit at 3 p.m. ET.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.67% from Friday’s 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped nine cents to $103.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $21.30 to $1,234 U.S. an ounce.
