The Toronto stock market racked up a solid advance Monday afternoon amid rising metal prices, while traders 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 73.96 points by Monday’s close to 12,208.87
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.21 cents to 94.69 cents U.S.
Most TSX sectors were higher but railway stocks were lower amid questions about the transport 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 73 cents to $102.73 and Canadian Pacific was off 52 cents to $126.69. Meanwhile, stock in pipeline company TransCanada gained 82 cents to $46.41.
Just Energy Group improved by 30 cents to $6.45.
The base metals sector was up while copper prices edged up three cents to $3.10 U.S. a pound after sliding 11 cents on Friday. Turquoise Hill Resources rose 43 cents to $6.20.
Financials also provided lift with the sector ahead. Manulife Financial gained 59 cents to a new 52-week high of $17.89.
Oil prices were lower after unrest in Egypt helped push the price of crude up seven per cent last week.
But the energy sector climbed and Suncor Energy gained 47 cents to $31.60.
The gold sector declined, as bullion prices headed higher amid a sign that the recent steep price drop may be coming to an end.
Prices have been particularly under pressure since the indication that Fed bond purchases could be scaled back and data showing an improving U.S. economy and tame inflationary pressures. Gold now is down more than 30% from a peak of around $1,900 U.S. an ounce in September 2011.
Barrick Gold Corp. rose one cent to $14.58 while Goldcorp Inc. faded 55 cents to $24.91.
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 10.98 points to 873.29
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to end the day, with utilities bolting 2.9%, energy improving 0.9%, and financials ahead 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by gold, down 1.4%, real-estate, down 0.7%, and information technology, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed higher Monday ahead of a big, upcoming wild card: corporate earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 88.85 points to 15,224.70
The S&P 500 index picked up 8.57 points to 1,640.46. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite regained 5.45 points to 3,484.83
Second-quarter earnings season will kick off after the close of trading, starting with aluminum producer Alcoa. Investors typically look to the Dow component's quarterly results as a litmus test for how Corporate America fared over the past three months.
For most of the year, earnings haven't had a big impact on stocks. Instead, investors have focused primarily on the status of the U.S. Federal Reserve's massive bond buying program, which has served as rocket fuel for stocks. All three indexes are up between 14% and 16% this year.
But with the U.S. Federal Reserve expected to take its foot off the gas, investors will be forced to grapple with the fundamentals underlying the stocks they're buying and selling. That's why they'll pay extra attention to this latest round of corporate earnings.
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.
An upgrade by Morgan Stanley fueled a run-up in Priceline's stock.
Shares of Intel sank, after Evercore downgraded the chip maker's stock.
Michael Dell got one step closer to victory in his bid to take Dell private along with Silver Lake, after ISS gave him the nod of approval.
And following Alcoa, results are due later in the week from companies including Yum! Brands, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 2.64% from Friday’s 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 38 cents to $102.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $22.20 to $1,234.90 U.S. an ounce.
