The Toronto stock market moved higher Tuesday amid a heavy slate of economic data coming out this week and hopes for strong fourth quarter earnings.
The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 94.98 points to move into noon hour ET at 13,590.52
The Canadian dollar tumbled 0.77 cents to 93.09 cents U.S.
The tech sector advanced with BlackBerry registering a solid gain for a second day, up 29 cents to $8.80 following a 42-cent gain Monday after the smartphone maker said it has hired Ron Louks, who has held senior positions at HTC America Inc. and Sony Ericsson, to help develop the company's long-term product road map.
The energy sector rose as Suncor Energy gained 37 cents to $36.95.
The financials group was up as Royal Bank improved by 62 cents to $71.32.
Gold stocks declined, as Kinross Gold faded six cents to $4.85.
March copper was a penny lower at $3.35 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector slipped as Capstone Mining slipped four cents to $2.88.
In corporate news, shares in Valeant jumped $12.01, or 10%, to $132 after the pharmaceutical company said Tuesday that it expects revenue of between $8.2 billion to $8.6 billion for fiscal 2014, an increase of 40%, and cash earnings between $8.25 and $8.75 per share. It adds it will continue to look for a big acquisition or merger of equals.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Canada's merchandise imports edged up 0.1% while exports were unchanged in November. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world went from $908 million in October to $940 million in November.
The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) by the end of December 2013 dropped to 46.3, compared to a November figure of 53.7, a December 2012 figure of 52.8, and 63.5 for December 2011.
The PMI asks whether managers’ purchases last month were higher, the same, or lower than the previous month. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 2.4 points to 948.45
All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher by noon ET. Health-care stocks vaulted 4.6%, while information technology triumphed 1.5% and energy stocks leaped 1.1%.
The three laggards were gold, down 1.1%, materials, off 0.5%, and global base metals, down 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
The bulls may be staging a return to Wall Street today.
The Dow Jones industrial average tacked on 102.85 points to pause for lunch at 16,527.95
The S&P 500 index gained 9.09 points to 1,835.86. The NASDAQ recovered 31.74 points to 4,145.24, leading what could be the first gains of the year so far.
On the corporate side, Netflix shares slid following a downgrade from Morgan Stanley.
Shares of Palo Alto Networks rose after the security company on Monday announced its acquisition of Morta Security, a cybersecurity company.
Shares in Samsung Electronics edged lower after the South Korean tech giant announced its operating profits will take a hit amid increased competition in the smartphone market.
Economically speaking, investors were somewhat encouraged following a report that showed that the U.S. international trade gap narrowed in November.
The smaller-than-expected trade deficit bodes well for stronger economic growth for the fourth quarter.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, dropping yields to 2.95% from Monday’s 2.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices strengthened 58 cents to $94.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $11.50 to $1,226.50 U.S. an ounce.
