The Toronto stock market cast away the restraint felt on Wall Street and focused on stronger commodity prices to climb higher on Thursday afternoon.
The S&P/TSX composite index climbed into the green 65.22 points by the close to 12,704.52, moving away from the negative territory it was in during the first half of the day
The Canadian dollar was positive 0.33 cents to 97.05 cents U.S.
Gold stocks led the way, as Lake Shore Gold triumphed 6.5 cents, or 13.7%, to 54 cents, while Barrick Gold hiked 99 cents, or 5.1%, to $20.27, and Kinross Gold leaped 26 cents, or 4.4%, to $6.20.
Telecom stocks were higher on the TSX, after a report in the Globe and Mail said Verizon is setting aside its pursuit of smaller wireless players Wind Mobile and Mobilicity, choosing to wait until after a government wireless spectrum auction in January.
Telus stock was the biggest gainer of the pack, rising $1.45, or 4.7%, to $32.20.
Canadian Pacific Railway said it will appeal a legal order from the Quebec government that is holding the company responsible for the cleanup and some of the financial impact of the Lac-Megantic disaster in Quebec.
That legal notice demands that the companies follow a provincial law that holds businesses accountable for the financial impact of an environmental disaster. Canadian Pacific shares fell $1.60 to $124.84.
Meanwhile, Yellow Media Ltd. said the chairman of its board of directors will take on the CEO's role temporarily as the publishing company continues to search for a permanent replacement for Marc Tellier, who vacates the position Thursday. Shares of the company rose 30 cents to $12.50.
The real-estate sector took a battering, though, as Brookfield Asset Management faded $1.30, or 3.4%, to finish at $37.00.
On the economic front, figures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association showed national home sales edged up 0.2% from June to July. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 9.4% above levels in July 2012. The number of newly listed homes edged down 0.4% from June to July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange broke out of its doldrums to gain 5.95 points to 932.10
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, the former group led by gold, up 4.6%, materials, screaming higher 3.2%, and telecoms growing 2.9%.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by real-estate, down 1.5%, information technology, off 1.4%, and health-care, 1.2% worse off.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 225 points, or 1.4%, Thursday, its biggest loss in almost two months.
U.S. stocks were dragged down by disappointing earnings from Wal-Mart and Cisco, which outweighed more encouraging economic news.
The Dow ended a turbulent Thursday at 15,112.20
The S&P 500 index was down 23.42 points to 1,661.97. The NASDAQ shed 63.16 points to 3,606.12
Wal-Mart reported lower-than-expected second-quarter U.S. sales early Thursday.
That report came on the heels of news from Cisco that sent its shares plunging. The network equipment maker revealed plans to cut 4,000 jobs, citing difficult economic conditions.
In other corporate news, J.C. Penney shares rose after investment manager George Soros revealed the size of his stake in the embattled retailer.
Shares rose for Kohl's after the company reported a second quarter jump in revenue, despite a drop profit. The retailer also lowered its earnings forecast for the full year.
Shares of Gannett slid after Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm run by billionaire Warren Buffett, unloaded its shares of the newspaper giant.
Berkshire disclosed its holdings in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was released Thursday.
Berkshire bought shares of Dish Network and Suncor Energy and ramped up its ownership of General Motors in the second quarter.
Shares of Smith & Wesson fell more than 8% after KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the gun manufacturer's stock from Buy to Hold.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government said jobless claims dropped by more than expected to 320,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure. The U.S. Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.2%, in line with expectations. CPI is a key gauge of inflation.
Investors continue to look for more clues on when the Federal Reserve will start to tighten monetary policy.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, spiking yields to 2.76% from Wednesday’s 2.71%. Treasury price and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 38 cents to $107.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sprang upward $31.10 to $1,365.50 U.S. an ounce.
