The Toronto stock market was higher Thursday amid corporate deal-making and some positive American employment news.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed Thursday ahead 87.25 points to 12,845.06.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.08 cents at 95.19 cents U.S.
U.S. private equity firm Directional Aviation Capital is buying Bombardier's Flexjet fractional business aircraft ownership service for $185 million U.S. The new owners are also ordering up to 245 Bombardier aircraft in a deal whose value could reach about $5.2 billion U.S.
Bombardier was ahead 26 cents, or 5.5%, to $4.98.
BlackBerry was another TSX driver, up 29 cents to $11.57 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the smartphone maker had narrowed the list of possible bidders for all or part of the company, and hopes to wrap up the auction by November.
Financials gained as Royal Bank advanced $1.08 to $66.56.
Oil prices rose after the government said that supplies of oil and gasoline each fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 30. The drop in gasoline supplies was greater than expected, and refinery usage increased, both signs perhaps of solid demand for fuel
The energy sector strengthened as Imperial Oil was ahead 95 cents to $45.57.
Other commodities were lower as December copper closed unchanged at $3.24 U.S. a pound. The base metals sector rose and Turquoise Hill Resources was five cents higher at $5.42.
Gold stocks were down as Goldcorp was down $1.00 to $30.50.
A U.S. hedge fund is making a renewed call for changes at Barrick Gold, calling for the breakup of the company and the addition of a mining engineer and geologist to its board.
Mike Morris, principal and founder of Two Fish Management, says that there is no compelling reason for Barrick to own a worldwide conglomerate of gold mines. Barrick edged 50 cents lower to $19.90.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched higher 0.60 points to 947.78
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by the close, led by information technology, gaining 1.6%, financials, up 1.4%, and industrials, advancing 1.3%.
The three laggards were gold, down 3.2%, materials, off 1.6%, and telecoms, sliding 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks are faring well so far in September. All three indexes rose for the third day in a row and are up more than 1% this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained positive 6.61 points to close at 14,937.50
The S&P 500 index picked up two points to 1,655.08. The NASDAQ gained 9.74 points to 3,658.78
The gains are helping to erase some of the painful memories of a brutal August -- although investors have little to complain about in 2013. The three major indexes are up between 14% and 21% year-to-date.
Shares of LinkedIn moved up, after falling Wednesday on concerns that a new billion-dollar-plus offering would dilute existing shareholders. The company sold more than $1.2 billion in stock in a secondary offering Wednesday night.
Investors have been infatuated with the company since it went public in 2011. Its shares are up nearly sixfold since then.
Shares of Netflix rose after analysts at RBC upgraded their price target for the company. Netflix's stock is nearing its all-time highs from 2011.
Shares of Groupon soared after Morgan Stanley upgraded the online coupon company.
J.C. Penney shares continued to move higher, after soaring Wednesday on news that two major hedge funds added stakes in the troubled retailer. Some traders thought the stock may have finally bottomed.
The stock of another troubled retailer, Sears Holdings, also popped.
On the economic front, investors had two bits of labour market data on which to chew.
The jobs numbers released by payroll processing firm ADP showed hiring continuing at a modest pace.
The U.S. Labor Department's initial jobless claims figures also pointed to a steady recovery in the job market, with fewer people filing for unemployment.
But Friday is the big day for the markets. The U.S. government releases the August jobs report. Economists believe that 185,000 jobs were added last month and that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.3%.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 2.98% from Wednesday’s 2.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on $1.13 to $108.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $21.10 to $1,368.90 U.S. an ounce.
