Toronto's main stock index climbed on Wednesday as rising metal prices and a firm start to bank earnings season outweighed persistent economic uncertainties.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day up 156.35 points, or 1.2%, to 13,751.47
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.11 cents to 102.28 cents U.S.
Fears about the debt crisis in Greece and other euro-zone countries, which have created volatility in many of the index's resource issues, were put aside on Wednesday morning.
Diversified miner Teck Resources gained 2.4% to $48.36, while Kinross Gold rose 0.9% to $14.96.
Bank of Montreal reported a rise in profit, bolstering hopes that the country's other big banks will also report solid second-quarter results.
Bank of Montreal rose 0.8% to $61.98, though most of its peers were lower in choppy dealings.
Tim Hortons was one of the leading decliners, shedding 0.8% to $45.08 after news that its chief executive had left the company abruptly.
In the macroeconomic world, Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he will present a budget on June 6.
Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa he will reintroduce the fiscal plan that he presented March 22, which didn’t pass because opposition parties triggered an early election.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 21.94 points to 2,049.01 while the Nasdaq Canada index moved forward 2.82 points to 661.01
In Toronto, all but two of the 14 subgroups gained, led by energy stocks, up 1.8%, materials, picking up 1.5%, and metals and mining, advancing 1.4%.
Only a 0.2% drop by telecoms, and a 0.1% fading by health-care issues, kept things from being unanimous.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks strengthened in the last hour of trading, moving higher after three straight days of declines, following a rise in commodity prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained back 38.45 points to end the session at 12,394.70.
Caterpillar and DuPont gained the most on the blue-chip index, while Verizon and Procter & Gamble were the biggest laggers.
The S&P 500 added 4.19 points to 1,320.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 15.22 points to 2,761.38, with Netflix leading the advance.
On one hand, investors are on edge as they face a series of issues that refuse to go away: a slowing U.S. recovery, European debt problems, and the end of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program.
On the other hand, corporate earnings have been coming in above expectations for the most part.
And in a low-interest rate environment, equities remain the most attractive asset class, according to some experts.
Shares of AIG fell 5%, after the insurance giant's long-awaited stock sale late Tuesday raised $8.7 billion U.S., leaving the U.S. government with a tiny profit on the offering.
Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia jumped 25%, after the company said Martha Stewart would rejoin the company's board of directors. The company also hired private equity firm Blackstone Group to help explore "strategic alternatives."
Costco's stock fell 1.2%, after the company delivered a worse-than-expected profit. The wholesale club's stock was among the worst performers on the Nasdaq.
California Pizza Kitchen is being bought by Golden Gate Capital for $470 million U.S., or $18.50 per share in cash. Shares of CPKI rose 10%.
Shares of Russian search engine Yandex slipped 9% to about $36 U.S, a day after the company's stock jumped 55% on its public debut from its IPO price of $25 U.S. a share.
Polo Ralph Lauren was the biggest decliner on the S&P 500, with shares falling 8%. The retailer's quarterly profit tumbled 36% to $73.2 million U.S., below analysts’ expectations, mostly due to higher cotton prices.
On the economic front, new orders for long-lasting goods fell more than expected in April, the Commerce Department said. Durable goods orders fell 3.6% last month, versus a forecasted 2% decline.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced her bid to become head of the International Monetary Fund Wednesday.
Lagarde is the leading contender to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned last week in the wake of charges he tried to rape a hotel maid in New York. She would be the first female managing director for the IMF.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, pushing the yield up to 3.13% from 3.12% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices jumped $1.72 to $101.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled back $1.40 an ounce to $1,525.30 U.S.
