Stocks on Bay Street traded higher Thursday -- with a rally in mining stocks outweighing a big decline by BCE Inc. after the telecom giant said its leveraged buyout deal was in jeopardy.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 110.25 points to 8,753.77.
BCE Inc's $34.8 billion leveraged buyout stood on the brink of collapse on Wednesday after accountants ruled that the company that would emerge from the deal would fail a solvency test because of its huge debt load.
Shares of BCE, Canada's biggest telecom company, shed more than a third of their value as investors reacted to the latest twist in the saga of a leveraged buyout deal that ranks as the world's largest.
In other corporate news -- warehouse operator InStorage REIT says it's still open to being taken over by Canadian Storage Partners ULC, but only at a price of $4 per unit -- about $98 million -- or more. Negotiations between the two companies are underway, InStorage said.
Lundin Mining Corp. rose the most in four weeks in Stockholm trading after Canada’s HudBay Minerals Inc. said it still intends to pursue a takeover. HudBay agreed to acquire Toronto-based Lundin to gain operations in Europe and Africa, and the agreement includes a $135.8 million cash injection into Lundin to strengthen its balance sheet amid a collapse in commodity prices.
On the economic front -- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will make a presentation at 4 pm EST after markets close. While other governments -- notably in Washington -- have been presenting massive spending plans to energize slumping economies, Flaherty's department has indicated that big spending moves from Ottawa won't be announced today.
But the government may provide relief to federally regulated corporations confronting pension deficits as the value of plan assets erodes with falling capital markets.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was trading at 81.14 cents US, down 0.17 of a cent.
BAYSTREET
Nine of the TSX sub-groups traded higher today -- mining stocks gained 8.70 percent; energy issues were ahead 3.37 percent and real-estate stocks gained 2.61 percent.
On the downside -- telecom stocks were off 2.04 percent followed by a 0.80 percent dip in health-care issues and a 0.67 percent drop in financial stocks.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange rose 16.59 points to 747.98.
ON WALLSTREET
American markets were closed for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
