The Toronto stock market was slightly higher Wednesday, supported by Bombardier Inc. as the aerospace giant announced a multibillion-dollar deal and by energy stocks as crude breezed past the $100 U.S. mark on worries about spreading unrest in the Mideast.
The S&P/TSX composite index held onto a gain of 21.17 points to close at 14,144.02
The Canadian dollar regained 0.19 cents to 102.8 cents U.S.
The energy sector rose as Suncor Energy Inc. rose 36 cents to $46.02 while Canadian Natural Resources gained 80 cents to $49.73.
Oil prices have been volatile recently, up almost 14% since Feb. 18, as fighting between supporters and opponents of Moammar Gadhafi has cut oil production in the OPEC country in half.
Investors are concerned violent protests and political upheaval could break out in other oil-rich countries in the Middle East.
There are also concerns that the rebellion will endanger Libya’s oil fields, which produce 1.6 million barrels per day.
The industrials component was ahead after Bombardier said it has received an order for as many as 120 aircraft from Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets Inc. in a deal that could be worth $6.7 billion U.S.
The Montreal-based firm calls the transaction the "largest business aircraft sale" in the company’s history and its shares jumped 46 cents or 7.5% to $6.60.
The gold sector was down slightly even as nervous investors looking for safe haven continued to push bullion prices higher. Kinross Gold Corp. faded 24 cents to $15.19 while Goldcorp Inc. improved by 23 cents to $48.30.
The base metals sector drifted lower as copper prices came off early lows and the May copper contract in New York was off one cent at $4.50 U.S. a pound. HudBay Minerals declined 23 cents to $16.71.
The market’s tepid performance comes amid a strong rally that has been going on more or less steadily since last summer and the TSX is up 5% over the first two months of this year.
In other corporate news, media company Torstar Corp. said profits were $26.7 million in the fourth quarter, declining from a year earlier profit of $57.4 million when it recognized earnings from its stake in CTVglobemedia.
Excluding the year-ago results from CTVglobemedia, quarterly profits at the owner of the Toronto Star and other newspapers, Harlequin books and numerous websites were down $400,000 from a year ago and its shares lost 50 cents to $14.00.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) inched up 0.2% in January, while and the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) edged up 0.3% in the same month, both indexes exhibiting slower growth than previous months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 1.99 points to 2,402.02, while the Nasdaq Canada index shed 1.77 points to 818.59.
In Toronto, 10 of the 14 subgroups were negative Wednesday. Health-care stocks faded 1.3%, while consumer discretionaries dropped 0.5% and gold inched back 0.3%
The four gainers were led by energy stocks, ahead 0.9%, while industrials, added 0.8%, and global base metals prospered 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks edged higher as nervous investors focus on oil prices, which once again stepped above $100 U.S. a barrel on renewed concerns about oil and the Libyan conflict.
The Dow Jones industrial average squeaked into the green 8.78 points by the close to 12,066.80, with 3M and Caterpillar posting the biggest gains.
The S&P 500 was up 2.11 points to 1,308.44. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index grew 10.66 points to 2,748.07.
Yahoo was a big winner on both of those indexes, with the stock popping 4% amid reports that the online portal company is in talks to sell its 30% stake in its Yahoo Japan venture.
Shares of Apple rose 0.8% after the company's CEO Steve Jobs made a surprise appearance on stage in San Francisco to debut the iPad 2, which received a new, thinner design and an updated "A5" dual-core microprocessor.
Economically speaking, ADP released its latest private-sector jobs report, showing a gain of 217,000 jobs for February.
Economists had forecast the ADP report to show that private businesses hired 165,000 new workers last month, down from 187,000 in January.
Employers announced plans to cut 50,702 jobs in February, a 32% increase over last month, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
In the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report, a reading of the economic situation from the regional Fed banks, the central bank said manufacturers and retailers across all 12 of the Fed's districts are passing on rising commodity prices to consumers, but the economy continues to grow at a moderate pace.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell a bit, pushing the yield up to 3.46% from Tuesday’s 3.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery leaped $2.59 to $102.22 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery also rose, as investors made a play for safety. The yellow metal touched an intraday record of $1,441 U.S. an ounce, before easing slightly to settle at $1,437.70 U.S. an ounce.
