Energy and mining stocks boosted the Toronto stock market Friday afternoon as a weaker American dollar helped send oil and metal prices higher.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day ahead 27.18 points to 13,652.27
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.61 cents to 102.74 cents U.S.
The energy sector was up while Imperial Oil gained 43 cents to $46.60 and Cenovus Energy gained 17 cents to $33.97.
Nexen Inc. the Calgary-based major oilsands operator and global oil and natural gas producer said Thursday it expects production this year to come in at the low end of its guidance, reflecting down time at its Buzzard platform in the North Sea and a labour strike in Yemen. Its shares climbed 22 cents to $22.31.
In addition to Buzzard and Yemen, Nexen operates the Long Lake oilsands project in northern Alberta and has a 7% interest in the massive Syncrude Canada Ltd. oilsands mine.
Metal prices also advanced with the July copper contract ahead seven cents to $4.12 U.S. a pound. The base metals sector moved up and Inmet Mining advanced 92 cents to $67.35 while Teck Resources gained 21 cents to $48.69.
The gold sector rose as the weaker greenback helped push the June gold contract on the Nymex up. Goldcorp Inc. climbed 64 cents to $47.50.
In other corporate news, the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents about 3,800 customer service and airport workers at Air Canada, has set a strike deadline for June 13 at midnight.
The CAW’s negotiations with the country’s largest airline resume in Toronto on Tuesday with a federally-appointed mediator. Air Canada shares gained six cents to $2.40.
Harry Winston Diamond Corp. said Thursday that it has entered into a business relationship with a group establishing a polished diamond investment fund. The fund being set up by Diamond Asset Advisors AG will be structured as a limited partnership of up to $250 million U.S. offering institutional investors direct exposure to the wholesale market price of polished diamonds. Its shares were up 47 cents to $16.05.
Kinross Gold Corp. shares gained 14 cents to $14.55 as it said Friday that a brief work stoppage at its Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania has ended and production wasn’t affected.
The TSX is up about 250 points this week, more than making up for last week’s decline amid worries about slowing economic conditions, higher interest rates in countries which have supported the commodity boom such as China and India, and the European debt crisis.
The market is still well off the highs of the year of around 14,300 from early April.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning inflation ran at an annual rate of 3.3% in April, one-10th of a point shy of analysts’ expectations. The CPI figure was propped up mostly by higher gasoline prices.
Elsewhere, retail sales were flat in March. After removing the effects of price changes, particularly higher food and gasoline prices, sales volumes dropped 0.8%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 29.22 points to 2,033.44 while the Nasdaq Canada index sifted off 4.16 points to 663.52
In Toronto, gainers outnumbered losers eight to six among the 14 subgroups. Consumer staples surged 1.1%, gold issues prospered 1% and energy gained 0.6%.
Consumer discretionaries weighed most heavily on the half-dozen laggards, dropping 0.6%, while global base metals and real-estate stocks sagged 0.4% each.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks pared their deep morning losses Friday, but remained in the red in afternoon trading as retailers and Greek debt jitters continued to weigh on the market.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 93.28 points to 12,512
The S&P 500 surrendered 10.33 points to 1,333.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 19.99 points to 2,803.32
Gap shares tumbled 17% while Aeropostale's stock fell 14%, after both companies lowered their full-year guidance, citing weaker demand and higher commodity costs. Gap shares were the worst performer on the S&P 500.
Other retailers followed suit, with shares of Macy's, Urban Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch all sliding more than 2%. Shares of Polo Ralph Lauren and JC Penney fell 4%
After debuting Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of LinkedIn more than doubled from their IPO price -- making it one of the biggest tech IPOs since Google. LinkedIn shares rose 2% during its second day as a publicly-traded company.
Shares of Barnes & Noble jumped 30%, after the bookseller announced a buyout proposal by Liberty Media for $17 U.S. per share in cash -- a nearly $1-billion U.S. buyout offer
Meanwhile, Greece's debt troubles returned to haunt investors after Fitch Ratings cut the debt-ridden country's credit rating by three notches. The downgrade pushed Greek bonds further into "highly speculative" junk territory.
The disappointing news in corporate earnings is combined with several lackluster economic reports in recent days. But investors have found solace in the Federal Reserve's likely continued support of the market -- even after its $600-billion U.S. bond-buying program expires at the end of June.
Investors are curious to see how markets will react to the end of the stimulus program, known as QE2.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained some ground, with the yield falling to 3.15% from Thursday’s 3.17%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices inched up 12 cents to $99.61 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $16.50, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,508.90 U.S. an ounce.
