Toronto's main stock index rose to a one-week high on Wednesday, helped by a rebound in prices for oil, gold and copper.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index leaped 166.19 points, or 1.2%, to close the session at 13,607.25
The Canadian dollar traveled up 0.15 cents to 103.01 cents U.S.
Suncor Energy rose 2.7% to $39.56. Canadian Natural Resources added 2.5% to $40.74, while Potash Corp gained 2.3% to $53.49. Teck Resources gained 4.2% to $48.70.
Research In Motion pushed higher for a second straight day, climbing 3.8% to $44.11, and was one of the most influential gainers overall. Before their turn higher, RIM shares had fallen nearly 30% this year.
Sanford C. Bernstein said the BlackBerry smartphone maker is still in a challenging position, but upgraded the stock to market-perform from underperform, saying RIM is unlikely to face a significantly worse scenario in the next two years.
Canaccord Financial Inc rose 3.7% to $14.15 the day after it reported its quarterly profit soared amid record revenue from advisory fees.
The index closed the session in positive territory on the year for the first time since early May. Since reaching a 32-month high in March, the index has tumbled close to 7%, largely due to a slump in commodity prices.
On the economic front, Canada’s leading indicator rose 0.8% in April with all three manufacturing components advancing, largely on stronger exports, according to Statistics Canada on Wednesday.
The nation’s number crunchers also reported that wholesale sales inched up 0.1% to $46.8 billion in March, following a 0.9% decline in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 23.29 points to 1,992.11 while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 16.49 points to 675.25
In Toronto, all 14 subgroups were positive at day’s end. Metals and mining stocks triumphed 2.8%, while energy issues climbed 2%, and global base metals moved 1.8% higher.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, tech shares and energy stocks helped push the broader market higher on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 80.60 points to 12,560.20.
The S&P 500 picked up 11.70 points to 1,340.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 31.79 points to 2,815.
Dell was the best performer on both S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Late Tuesday, the PC maker reported record earnings even as PC sales slumped.
And a more than 3% jump in oil prices boosted shares of the energy sector, including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Tesoro and Cabot Oil. The Energy SPDR, an exchange-traded fund which tracks several energy companies including Exxon and Chevron, rose nearly 3%.
Investor enthusiasm has dampened in recent weeks as both stocks and commodities have pulled back from recent highs and Wall Street braces for the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's $600-billion U.S. bond-buying program at the end of June.
Target posted earnings per share of 99 cents, up 9.8% from the same quarter a year ago. Sales also rose and both numbers topped forecasts. Despite the good news, shares fell 3%.
Office supply giant Staples reported a 2% rise in sales to $6.2 billion U.S., and net income rose of $198 million U.S. The results were just shy of forecasts and the company issued a tepid outlook, sending shares down 16% -- making it the worst performer on the S&P 500.
Deere & Co. reported a 25% jump in sales to $8.9 billion U.S., citing strong demand for large farm machinery, particularly in the United States, Canada and Brazil. Still, shares fell 2%.
Hershey shares dropped 3% after the company announced Hershey Chief Executive David West was leaving the company to join privately-held Del Monte Foods.
Aflac's shares fell 7% after its CEO Dan Amos gave an earnings forecast that fell short of analysts' expectations.
On things economic, the Federal Reserve's April meeting minutes showed mild divisions among the Fed's key central bankers on when to begin raising interest rates and whether inflation is a real threat. Those divisions did not impact voting, as all bankers voted unanimously to keep interest rates low and end QE2 on schedule.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost a bit of ground, raising yields to 3.17% from Tuesday’s 3.12%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $3.25, or 3.4%, to $100.17 U.S. a barrel, after the Energy Department's weekly oil inventory report showed U.S. crude supplies remained unchanged last week. Analysts had expected a 550,000-barrel build.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $16.70, or 1.1%, to $1,496.70 U.S. an ounce
