The Toronto stock market bounded ahead more than 100 points Tuesday to its highest point of the year as commodity prices rose and investors took in mixed consumer data from the United States.
Within minutes of the closing bell, the S&P TSX Composite index grew 157.40 points, to 11,489.44, for its ninth positive session in the last 10.
On the anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, experts contrasted the nose-dive taken by stocks soon after and the progress they've made since then.
Stock markets didn't bottom until early March and, since then, the main Toronto index has roared ahead 50% and some analysts say markets are ripe for some sort of retracement.
There is also concern that investors have gotten ahead of themselves a year after the Lehman debacle.
One expert says that investor sentiment will be sorely tested by third-quarter earnings reports in a few weeks because companies will have to demonstrate revenue growth from something besides cost-cutting.
The TSX energy sector rose as Canadian Natural Resources rose $1.88 to $73.03 and Suncor Inc. was ahead $1.20 to $38.55.
The base metals sector rose as Ivanhoe Mines gained 46 cents to $13.51 while Teck Resources advanced 39 cents to $29.14.
The gold group climbed as Goldcorp Inc. gained $1.04 to $45.29 while Shore Gold surged 19 cents or 19.4% to $1.17.
Financials were mainly higher as Scotiabank moved up $1.80 to $48.50 while Manulife Financial fell 54 cents to $21.32.
Shares in telecom company BCE Inc. were off 23 cents to $26.55 after UBS cut the telecom's rating to neutral from buy on valuation concerns.
Garda World Security Corp. had a $4-million profit in its latest quarter, as the armoured truck operator's revenue increased and the company continued to keep a close watch on its expenses.
The figure compared with a net loss of $1.2 million a year earlier and its shares were up 44 cents to $5.98.
According to Stats Canada, the number of new motor vehicles sold in July climbed 5.3% to 126,665 units, reflecting especially strong sales in Ontario. Sales of both passenger cars and trucks were up. Sales slipped a revised 0.5% in June.
The Canadian dollar raced ahead 0.95 cents to 93.33 cents U.S., even as the Bank of Canada again warned that headwinds from a strong currency are posing a risk to a smooth economic recovery.
Bank deputy governor John Murray issued the caution at a speech in Germany on Tuesday.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, 10 finished the day above ground, led by metals and mining, advancing 2.4%. Materials gained 2.1% and information technology, up 1.9%.
Health-care weighed most on the four losing groups, as it lost 2.2% worth of ground, while telecom skidded 0.7% and consumer staples backpedaled 0.6%.
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 15.52 points to 1,269.35, while the Nasdaq Canada index added 16.53 points to 824.32.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks gained Tuesday afternoon after a stronger-than-expected retail sales report and comments from Fed chief Ben Bernanke helped offset concerns that the rally has outpaced the recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 56.61 points to end the day at 9,683.41. The S&P 500 index was 3.29 points to the good at 1,052.63. The Nasdaq composite index tacked on 10.86 points, to 2,102.64.
Stocks churned in the morning, but managed some gains in the afternoon as investors eyed the morning's retail sales report and comments from Fed chief Ben Bernanke that the recession is "very likely over."
Financial, industrial and select commodity stocks led the advance, including Dow components Alcoa, American Express and General Electric.
Other than a little selling in the first few days of September, stocks have been extending the 2009 run.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the shotgun wedding buyout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America -- events widely seen as the accelerant that pushed the recession into a full-blown crisis.
On that day last year, credit seized and panicked investors dumped financial shares, leading to a broad selloff that sent the Dow plunging 504 points.
Stocks were tumultuous through that week but managed to end with only modest declines after a series of government actions. Those included the Federal Reserve saving AIG from bankruptcy and the forming of an early version of the TARP bank bailout plan.
But any relief investors felt at the end of that week soon gave out. Stocks plummeted in the six months after the collapse, with the S&P 500 and Dow bottoming out at 12-year lows on March 9, 2009 and the Nasdaq hitting a more-than-six-year low.
Since March, the Dow has gained 47%, the S&P 500 gained 55% and the Nasdaq composite has gained 65%.
Year-over-year, the major gauges are still down, with the Dow and S&P 500 roughly where they stood in early October of last year and the Nasdaq where it stood about a week earlier, in late September.
Economically speaking, a government report said retail sales jumped 2.7% in August, much stronger than the 2% increase that was forecast by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The report reflects the impact of the "Cash for Clunkers" program that lifted the auto industry, but it also shows that non-auto sales were also strong. Sales excluding autos rose 1.1% in August, better than the 0.4% increase that was expected by Briefing.com consensus.
The Labor Department also released its monthly reading on wholesale inflation. Producer prices rose 1.7% in August, more than double the expectations of Briefing.com consensus. More than 85% of that gain was due to higher gasoline prices.
The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, edged up 0.2%, which was double the Briefing.com consensus estimate.
Elsewhere, the Empire State index, a regional read on manufacturing, rose to 18.8 in September, topping forecasts for a rise to 15. The index stood at 12 in August.
July business inventories fell 1% after falling 1.1% previously. Economists thought it would fall 0.9%.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, the Federal Reserve chairman said that the pace of the recovery will be moderate next year and that it will still feel like a weak economy for some time. His speech was essentially a retread of another recent speech and therefore had only a limited impact on the market.
In company news, Best Buy reported that its same-store sales fell 3.9% in the fiscal second quarter, compared to the year-ago period.
The sales report came as the electronics retailer reported a quarterly profit that missed forecasts by five cents U.S. a share, although revenue surged 12.5% to $11 billion U.S. during the three-month period ended Aug. 29.
Best Buy also raised guidance for the fiscal year ending Feb. 27. The company raised the bottom of its earnings range to $2.70 to $3 U.S. per share, excluding restructuring charges. With charges, the company expects an earnings range of $2.64 to $2.94 U.S. per share. Shares in the company fell 5%.
Citigroup wants Treasury to sell off part of its roughly 34% stake in the financial firm, according to published reports. Citi is also looking to issue new shares to the public as part of a multi-billion-dollar stock offering.
Since the collapse of Lehman Bros. last year, the government has poured $45 billion U.S. into the firm and agreed to share losses on a big piece of the bank's bad assets. Citi shares fell 5% Tuesday.
Microsoft introduced new high-definition version of its Zune music player in an effort to make a dent into Apple's dominance of the sector through its iPod devices.
Treasury prices dipped, correspondingly prodding the yield on the benchmark 10-year note up to 3.45% from Monday’s 3.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil was up $2.07 to $70.94 U.S.
Gold prices were ahead $5 to $1,006 U.S. an ounce.
