The Toronto stock market racked up a solid advance Tuesday, helped along by gold stocks which continued to recover from a severe battering earlier in the summer.
The S&P/TSX composite index hiked 82.09 points to close business at 12,670.11, making up about half of Monday's 149-point slide.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.42 cents to 96.25 cents U.S.
Among gold plays – the champion among subgroups -- Goldcorp Inc. gained 92 cents to $32.95.
The utilities sector also provided lift, as Just Energy Group gained 17 cents to $6.33.
The energy sector was ahead while speculation over U.S. Federal Reserve intentions pushed crude prices down. Canadian Natural Resources gained 34 cents to $31.01.
The financials group ran up with Bank of Montreal up 54 cents to $64.50.
The base metals sector was off while copper was unchanged at $3.33 U.S. a pound. Turquoise Hill Resources climbed 18 cents to $5.29 while Teck Resources headed 58 cents lower to $27.53.
In the economic docket this morning, Statistics Canada reported that its wholesale trade index plummeted 2.8% in June, with declines virtually across the board. The loss offset what had been gained in the two months before.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.05 points Tuesday to 932.60.
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, led by gold, ahead 3.8%, materials, strengthening 2.3%, and real-estate, up 1.2%.
The four laggards were weighed by consumer staples, down 0.6%, while telecoms faded 0.2%, and industrials inched back 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were mixed Tuesday, trying to climb out of a four-day slump, as investors focused on earnings reports from several prominent retailers.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped back into the red 7.75 points to end the session at 15,003
The S&P 500 index gained 6.35 points to 1,652.41. The NASDAQ added 24.50 points to 3,613.59
Still, the Dow and S&P are both up about 15% for the year, and the NASDAQ has gained at least 19%.
J.C. Penney posted a big loss that was even worse than the forecasts. Despite that, the struggling retailer noted that its same store sales, a key measure for retailers, were slightly better than they were during the first quarter of 2013. Shares have retreated a bit from their highs of the day but were still up 6% in midday trading.
Best Buy has also struggled recently, but appears to be a step ahead of J.C. Penney in the turnaround process. The electronics retailer reported a surge in profit, which CEO Hubert Joly attributed to aggressive cost-cutting. The stock was up about 10% Tuesday and has now gained 185% so far this year.
Retailers Urban Outfitters and TJX were also top performers in the S&P 500 after releasing solid earnings reports.
Home Depot announced a gain in quarterly net profit and raised its guidance for 2013. Its rival Lowe's will report results tomorrow.
But not all the reports from retailers were good. Bookseller Barnes & Noble recorded a loss and said revenue from its Nook tablet business was down more than 20% from the same quarter last year. The stock plunged as a result.
The release Wednesday of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting will be closely watched for clues as to when the central bank will begin tapering its $85-billion-U.S.-a-month bond purchases.
More signals could come from the Kansas City Fed's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 2.81% from Monday’s 2.88%. Treasury price and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed $2.18 to $104.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $6.40 to $1,372.10 U.S. an ounce.
