Stocks on Bay Street put a positive spin on bad data today as stocks rallied behind less than attractive reports throughout North America based on the fact that more quantitative easing is imminent from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX Composite closed strong; up 89.66 points, or .72%, to 12,535.59.
The price of oil for November delivery is up; gaining 1.17% to $82.84.
Gold for December delivery is up at the moment; up $12.60 to $1,346.50.
The Canadian Dollar is up against the US Dollar at the moment; up by .006375 of a cent to .988805 U.S. cents.
ON THE DATA FRONT --
Overall job growth stalled last month providing further indications that the economy is lackluster in growth as compared to the first half of the year. Statistics Canada said the Canadian economy lost 6,600 jobs in September.
The unemployment rate moved slightly lower, dropping to 8%, which was better than expected.
Last month, part-time employment fell by 44,000, which offset an increase of 37,000 in full-time jobs. Employment among 15 to 24 year olds fell by 42,000, with the decline concentrated in Ontario.
Canadian housing starts fell 1.5% in September, attributed to of a decrease in new construction of single-family dwellings in Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
New home construction dropped to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 186,400 units from a revised 189,300 units in August, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said.
Starts of urban single homes dropped 8.1% to 63,600 units, while multi-unit dwellings were unchanged in the month at 99,600 units.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 23,200 units in September.
CLOSING NEWS --
The energy sector, which was slightly lower earlier in the day, rallied when the November crude contract on the Nymex came off its lows. Shares of Suncor Energy (T.SU), which gapped down to start the session, improved by 2.82% to $35.04.
Agrium Inc., Canada’s second-largest fertilizer producer, popped 7.2% after the U.S. Agriculture Department reported that corn production will decrease from last year’s record.
Investors Loving the Metals -- Copper made up its 2% loss from yesterday and rebounded 2.6% today.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., which is developing a copper and gold mine in Mongolia in partenership with Rio Tinto Group, increased share price by 2.8% to $24.87.
Canada's largest base metals and coal producer, Teck Resources Ltd., rose 2.6% to $45.02.
Equinox Minerals Ltd., which mines copper in Africa, rallied 4.6% to $5.92.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
Keep on Texting -- Shares of Research in Motion are on the climb this afternoon after the BlackBerry maker received news that the United Arab Emirates will not suspend Blackberry services on October 11th now that the dispute over access to email and other data has been resolved. Shares of RIM are up 1.51%.
Jazz Air Income Fund today announced details of its proposed conversion from an income trust to a public corporation under the new brand, Chorus Aviation Inc. Upon completion of the conversion on Dec 31, units in the fund will be exchanged for shares in the new corporation. The company stated that it will keep its cash distribution to unitholders unchanged after the conversion.
The base metals are leading the subgroups, up more than 2.5% as the December copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $.05 to $3.72 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX.B) climbed 2.64% to $45.06.
MORNING NEWS --
Among Canadian movers, fertilizer producers were strong, after the latest corn crop estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Shares of Agrium Inc. are up 5.7% and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. has climbed 2.1%.
More on Potash -- China's Sinochem will not proceed with a bid for Potash Corp unless the Canadian government gives a positive signal that it would approve a deal first.
Gold plays back in favor -- Shares of Kinross are up 1.26% and shares of Goldcorp are up 1.46%
ON BAYSTREET
Eleven of the TSX Subgroups closed in the green today. Metals and mining finished up by 2.90%, followed by base metals; up 2.81% and then materials, which closed up by 1.77%.
On the downside -- Financials finished down .36% and utilities closed down .02%.
Telecom services finished flat.
The TSX Venture Exchange closed up by 19.12 points to 1784.88, while the Nasdaq Canada index finished in the green; up 14.97 points to 635.11.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 11,000 for the first time since May to kick off the weekend with speculation mounting heavily that the Federal Reserve will take more action to get the economy going again.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up by 57.90 points, or .53% to 11,006.48. The S&P 500 is up by 7.09 points, or .61%, to 1,165.15. The NASDAQ is trading in the green as well; up 18.24 points, or .77%, to 2,401.91.
The US Dollar is losing against the euro by .0018 and losing ground against the yen as well; down .1700.
Oil futures for November delivery are up $1.17 to $82.84.
The 10-year bond yield is down .1500 to 2.3810%.
DATA NEWS --
The U.S. economy lost 95,000 nonfarm jobs in September as local and state governments unloaded census workers and other various positions at a faster than the private sector was adding new jobs. The government sector lost 159,000 jobs including 77,000 temporary Census workers. The 95,000 total was far greater than the expected decline.
The unemployment rate remained constant at 9.6% as fewer new workers joined the labor market than in the previous month. Economists had expected a slight increase.
Average hourly earnings in September were flat and are up only 1.7% over the past year.
The Department of Commerce provided data today that showed inventories at U.S. wholesalers climbed more than forecast in August as companies kept stockpiles in line with demand.
The 0.8% increase in the value of inventories followed a revised 1.5% gain in July that was more than initially estimated. Sales rose 0.5% following a 0.8% gain a month earlier.
CLOSING NEWS --
Not to be forgotten -- Not only did the big blue chips lead the energy sector higher today with Alcoa (up .38%) and Exxon (up .08%), but small cap companies had strong days. Shares of Nabors Industries (NBR) climbed 3.74% and Sunoco (SUN) saw share price increase 2.6%.
Also worth noting on energy -- Energy stocks turned completed a strong week of gains today; finishing at their highest levels in six months.
Can't we just get along? -- French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said today that she would much rather talk about ''peace and not war'' as world finance ministers and central bankers are meeting in Washington to hash out global economic issues.
BTW -- Shares of Adobe Systems Inc. are trading up .22% after hours after a rough day in which shares fell 5.9% as talk of a potential takeover by Microsoft diminished.
Tech Talk -- Tech stocks closed the week with broad gains as enthusiasm about the Fed ''jump starting'' the economy fueled possibilities. Among the leaders were Apple, Inc.; up 1.68%, Dell, Inc.; up 3.17% and Hewlett Packard Co.; up .83%.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
Abbott Laboratories announced that it is pulling its diet-drug, Meridia, from the U.S. market at the request of the U.S.F.D.A. The statement followed Canadian regulators saying that the product was being pulled from the Canadian market over heightened concerns that it can trigger serious cardiovascular events in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease. Shares of ABT are up .51%.
Driving the Dow -- Shares of Caterpillar, Inc. are hopping this morning; up more than 2%, while Boeing (BA) is up 1.4% and Walt Disney Co. is up 1.83%.
Buzz kill -- Now that the rumors of an Adobe takeover by Microsoft have subsided, shares of Adobe are sliding today. Shares of ADBE are down 4.78%.
Dotting i's and crossing t's -- Bank of America Corp. announced that it will stop foreclosure sales in all 50 states to check how it handles documents supporting home seizures. Shares of BAC are up .90% this afternoon.
Riding the Wave -- Energy stocks are reaping benefits of Alcoa's report to kick off earnings season. Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) are up .42% and shares of Chevron (CVX) have risen .23% this afternoon.
AT THE OPEN --
Gainers --
Alcoa Inc. has come out strong this morning after an upgrade from J.P. Morgan and a better than expected earnings report yesterday. Shares of AA are up 6.56%.
Atlantic Tele-Network Inc. shares are up on news that the Company will be replacing Dril-Quip in the S & P SmallCap 600 on October 14th (after closing). Dril-Quip will be moving to the S & P MidCap 400. Shares of ATNI are up 5.50% and shares of DRQ are 2.63%.
Shares of JCPenny are climbing this morning as hedge fund firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, snagged 16.5% of the retailer per a regulatory filing today. Shares of JCP are up 5.18%.
Laggards --
Shares of Cytori Therapeutics Inc. are tumbling on news of a 4 million common share offering at $4.50 per share. CYTX shares are down 11.05%.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. is seeing its share price fall after announcing poor expectations for its fiscal first quarter revenues. Shares of KLIC are off by 10.32%
