The Toronto stock market was higher Friday as investors picked up beaten down stocks for a second day after Libya declared a ceasefire in its fight against rebel forces and G7 countries pledged to support the Japanese economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished the day up 43.73 points to 13,789.88
The Canadian dollar was down 0.02 of a cent at 101.5 cents U.S.
The move was good news for a market that has seen huge swoops of volatility as investors try to come to grips with the economic devastation from a massive earthquake and tsunami which wiped out much of Japan’s industrial northeast and heavily damaged a nuclear power plant.
TSX energy stocks were weak with Suncor Energy Inc. down 74 cents at $43.22 while Canadian Natural Resources fell 40 cents to $47.83.
Investors also kept a wary eye on Japan’s nuclear crisis as military fire trucks sprayed seawater for a second day on the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in an attempt to prevent its fuel from overheating and spewing dangerous radiation.
The gold sector was up with Barrick Gold Corp. was ahead 98 cents at $48.74 while Goldcorp Inc. advanced 78 cents to $46.58.
Financials also provided support as Manulife Financial gained 30 cents to $16.73 while CIBC climbed 72 cents to $82.17.
The base metals sector was ahead despite with copper prices unchanged at $4.34 U.S. a pound after hopes for higher demand resulting from Japanese reconstruction had pushed the metal up 15 cents on Thursday. Lundin Mining was up 26 cents at $7.35 while Equinox Minerals rose 22 cents to $5.28.
In corporate news, shares in Encana Corp. rose 49 cents to $33.57 after the natural gas company agreed to buy a big stake in a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the B.C. coast. Encana did not say how much it will pay for a 30% interest in the Kitimat terminal, which would allow Canadian natural gas to be turned into a liquid and shipped overseas.
First Uranium Corp. says it has resumed production at its Ezulwini gold mine in South Africa after a worker there died in an accident last weekend. Its shares jumped eight cents, or 10.1%, to 87 cents.
Other uranium stocks improved following selloffs earlier in the week with Uranium One ahead 48 cents, or 13.9%, to $3.94 while Paladin Energy gained 29 cents, or 8.8%, to $3.58.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada said this morning that inflation rose 2.2% in February, on an annual basis, slightly less than the 2.3% analysts had been expecting. The nation’s number crunchers added that core inflation, which excludes gasoline and other volatile items, slipped to 0.9% year-on-year, the lowest level since January 1984
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 54.51 points to 2,243.87, while the Nasdaq Canada index tacked on 3.14 points to 765.76
In Toronto, the 14 subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers. Gold headed up 1.4%, while metals and mining surged 1.2%, and materials were 1.1% to the good.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by telecoms, down 0.3%, while consumer staples and information technology stocks were off 0.2% each.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rose for a second day in a row, as news of a ceasefire in Libya eased traders' concerns about international developments.
The Dow Jones industrial average added another 83.93 points to end a volatile week at 11,858.50.
The S & P 500 was up 5.49 points to 1,279.21. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index moved 7.62 points higher to 2,643.67.
Stocks gained right out of the gate Friday, as investors welcomed a double dose of good news: Libya's ceasefire and the G7's yen intervention plan.
The financial sector kept the momentum going, after the Federal Reserve gave the green light for several big banks to raise dividends and buy back shares. Among the firms to announce dividend hikes were JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and USBancorp, which each saw their shares climb.
The Libyan government announced an immediate ceasefire after the United Nations voted to impose a no-fly zone over the country. However, witnesses in the besieged city of Misrata told CNN a fierce pro-government assault was persisting.
Oil prices, which had ticked higher on the U.N. vote, turned lower after the ceasefire announcement.
While Japan continues to struggle with its nuclear power plants, the Group of Seven major economic powers announced a coordinated intervention to prevent the Japanese yen from rising further. The announcement helped the yen ease and helped the Nikkei rally 2.7% overnight.
U.S. stocks closed broadly higher Thursday, rebounding after two days of sharp declines.
On Wednesday, the three main U.S. indexes all ended at their lowest levels of 2011.
Friday, Cisco shares rose 1% after the company announced a new six-cents-U.S.-a-share dividend.
Nike shares tumbled 10% after the company reported disappointing earnings and said it would raise prices on many of its products because of higher commodity prices.
Celera shares soared 31% Friday after Quest Diagnostics announced it would buy Celera for $344 million U.S., or $8 U.S. a share.
Shares of tax-software maker Intuit rose 3% after the company said that the number of users of its TurboTax software jumped 7% compared to a year ago.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, boosting yields to 3.28% from Thursday’s 3.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gave back five cents to $101.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $11.90, or 0.8%, to trade at $1,416.10 U.S. an ounce.
