Canadian stocks moved toward their 10th gain in the last 11 sessions on Wednesday, with real-estate stocks leading the market higher.
Shortly before the closing bell, the S&P TSX Composite index surged 71.47 points, to 11,567.30.
Gold stocks also added strength and materials were up as the precious metal extended its record closing high. Eldorado was up 2.9% to $12.95, Iamgold added 3% to $16.68 and Barrick Gold was up 0.9% to $41.05.
Meanwhile, Vista Gold Corp fell 5.4% to $2.46 after the company announced it has agreed to increase the number of shares sold by 10% to 8.8 million shares at $2.25 U.S. per share of common stock. The offering is expected to close on September 21.
Harry Winston Diamond gained 4% to $9.53 after the company announced Diavik Diamond Mines' decision to cancel a winter production shutdown, originally planned for December 1 through January 11 at the Diavik mine in Canada's Northwest Territories.
Midway Energy soared 22.5% to $1.69 after the company said it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of a private company for $22.5 million.
In economic news, Canadian manufacturing sales increased 5.5% to $41.4 billion in July, building on the 2.2% increase in June, according to data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
Excluding the motor vehicle assembly and motor vehicle parts industries, manufacturing sales increased 2.1%.
Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development said in its annual employment outlook that it expects the unemployment rate in Canada to approach 10% by 2010.
The Canadian dollar sprinted ahead 0.65 cents to 93.91 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups went north, led by real-estate stocks, up 2.3%, global base metals, ahead 1.2% and energy stocks, advancing 1%.
The three laggards were industrials, off 0.5%, consumer discretionaries, down 0.3%, health-care, just below breakeven.
The TSX Venture Exchange lofted 15.19 points to 1,284.54, while the Nasdaq Canada index prospered 12.02 points to 836.34.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks gained Wednesday afternoon, pushing Wall Street to its highest level in a year, with a rise in industrial production and a spike in commodity prices and equities fueling an advance.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved ahead 108.30 points, or 1.1%, to 9,791.71, on track to close at the highest point since Oct. 6, 2008. The S&P 500 index was 16.13 points, or 1.5%, better at 1,068.76, set to close at its highest point since Oct. 3 of last year.
The Nasdaq composite index surged 30.51 points, also 1.5%, to 2,133.15, on track to close at its highest point since Sept. 26, 2008.
Stocks ended Tuesday's session at the highest point in nearly a year after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession is very likely over although the job market will still struggle. The upbeat economic sentiment stretched over into Wednesday's session and was helped along by the day's economic news.
The combination of improving economic news and fiscal and monetary stimulus has helped boost stocks over the last six months. Since bottoming at a 12-year low in March, the Dow has gained 47% and the S&P 500 has gained 55%.
Since bottoming at a six-year low, the Nasdaq has gained 65%.
With the exception of a 7% pullback in late June and early July that preceded the start of the second-quarter financial reporting period, the market has essentially been on the upswing for months, with occasional sideways lulls.
Verizon Communications slipped 2% after UBS downgraded it to "neutral" from "buy," according to published reports.
Adobe shares fell 6% after the software maker said late Tuesday it was buying e-commerce firm Omniture for about $1.8 billion U.S.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the maker of Bud beer, began trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange 10 months after it was bought by Belgian brewer InBev. Shares gained 2%.
Economically speaking, a government report released ahead of the opening bell showed that inflation at the consumer level rose 0.4% in August. The Consumer Price index was expected to have risen 0.3% in August after showing no change in July, according to a consensus of economist opinion from Briefing.com.
The core CPI, without including volatile food and energy prices, edged up 0.1%, matching expectations from the Briefing.com consensus. On a year-over-year basis, the overall CPI dropped 1.5%.
Elsewhere, industrial production gained 0.8% in August after rising 1% in the previous month.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com though it would rise 0.6%. Capacity utilization rose to 69.6% from a revised 69% previously. Economists expected no change.
Treasury prices dipped slightly, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.46% from Tuesday’s 3.45%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil was up $1.58 to $72.31 U.S.
Gold prices were ahead $14 to $1,020 U.S. an ounce.
