Mining stocks led the way to a solid gain on the Toronto stock market by noon Thursday and commodity prices advanced in the wake of strong manufacturing reports from China and Europe.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 92.85 points midday to 12,665.93
The Canadian dollar shed 0.37 cents to 95.11 cents U.S.
The positive data helped send oil and metal prices higher. The mining sector advanced while September copper on the Nymex gained four cents to $3.34 U.S. a pound.
Turquoise Hill Resources gained 23 cents to $5.49 while Teck Resources climbed 80 cents to $27.08.
The gold sector ran up while Barrick Gold Corp. rose 68 cents to $20.64.
The energy sector rose as Suncor Energy was up 37 cents to $35.22.
Outside of the resource groups, the industrials component was the biggest gainer, with Canadian Pacific Railway ahead $1.84 to $125.75.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported that June retail sales declined 0.6%, partially offsetting the gain in May.
The nation’s number-crunchers also said the number of those on regular employment insurance edged up during June by 4,500, or 9%, to 512,300, after a decline in May.
The number of beneficiaries has, most recently, been trending downward. Compared with June 2012, the number of people receiving regular benefits declined 6.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange strengthened 9.57 points to 934.89
All 14 Toronto subgroups were still positive by noon ET, led by metals and mining, up 3.1%, global base metals, up 3%, and materials, up 2.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks moved higher in early trading Thursday on positive global economic news.
The Dow Jones Industrials took on 63.17 points to 14,960.70. The Dow has ended lower for six straight days, its worst stretch since July 2012.
The S&P 500 index was in the green 10.58 points to 1,653.38. The NASDAQ was higher 31.16 points to 3,630.95
Several retailers took massive hits Thursday on weak quarterly numbers.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares plummeted after the teen-oriented clothing retailer reported a slump in quarterly sales and profits and a terrible outlook.
Sears Holding reported an uptick in its quarterly losses as revenues continue to fall.
GameStop bucked the trend in retail. The video game seller's stock soared on better-than-expected earnings and strong guidance.
In the world of tech, Hewlett-Packard shares dropped after the company announced its latest earnings on Wednesday, showing that PC sales are still in the dumps. HP is still top stock in the Dow this year though, as investors have high hopes for the turnaround plan of CEO Meg Whitman.
Gap and Pandora Media release results after the market close.
A survey of European purchasing managers pointed to signs that the economy may be stabilizing there. Better-than-expected data from Chinese factories gave glimmers of hope for Asia and the broader global economy.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell again, raising yields to 2.91% from Wednesday’s 2.86%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were up 69 cents to $104.54 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $2.60 to $1,372.70 U.S. an ounce.
