The Toronto stock market was higher for a third session Friday as rising prices for oil and metals lifted resource stocks.
But gains here held back by another earnings disappointment from the banking sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 21.69 points – well off its highs for the day -- to finish at 13,797.59
The Canadian dollar gained 0.06 cents to 102.32 cents U.S.
The financial sector was down as Royal Bank reported net income of $1.51 billion or $1 per share for the second quarter, up from earnings of $1.33 billion or 88 cents per share a year ago. Cash earnings per share were $1.03, under the average analyst estimate for a profit of $1.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Royal Bank shares lost $1.78 to $57.37.
Canada’s largest bank also announced a four-cent increase to its quarterly dividend Friday morning -- its first such increase in four years -- bringing it to 54 cents per quarter.
CIBC dropped 68 cents to $80.47. CIBC, Bank of Montreal, TD Bank and National Bank have all reported earnings this week. All except National came in below analyst expectations for earnings.
Suncor Energy declined 31 cents to $40.79 and Imperial Oil was off five cents to $47.87.
The base metals sector gained as metals also picked up with the July copper contract on the Nymex ahead six cents to $4.18 U.S. Teck Resources advanced $1.27 to $50.42 while Lundin Mining Corp. rose seven cents to $7.15.
The gold sector gained ground as Barrick Gold Corp. climbed eight cents to $46.32.
The telecom sector was also a positive, as the Conference Board of Canada said higher competition in the wireless industry will pull down profits at Canadian telecom companies by an estimated 9.5% this year to $6.7 billion. BCE Inc. was ahead 35 cents to $39.16.
Meanwhile, Research In Motion Ltd. gave up 10 cents to $42.60 after the BlackBerry maker said Friday that a class-action lawsuit has been filed against it in the U.S., alleging that the company’s leadership made materially false and misleading statements about its financial condition and business prospects to investors.
In other earnings news, aerospace and industrial products manufacturer Heroux-Devtek Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $7.7 million or 25 cents per diluted share, up from $4.4 million or 14 cents in the same 2010 quarter. Sales revenue was just under $106 million, up from $84.9 million in the prior-year period. Its shares gained 38 cents to $8.80
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange charged ahead 28.63 points to 2,096.98 while the Nasdaq Canada index recovered 3.13 points to 670.41
In Toronto, all but two of the 14 subgroups were in the green, led by metals and mining, up 1.1%, gold, moving forward 1% and information technology, garnering 0.9%.
The two laggards were financials, off 0.8%, and consumer staples, sliding back 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks posted modest gains Friday, with trading volume light as traders positioned themselves ahead of the long holiday weekend.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day 38.82 points to the good, at 12,441.60. Bank of America was the Dow's top performer, rising 2.5%, followed by Johnson & Johnson and Walt Disney
The S&P 500 moved up 5.41 points to 1,331.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index gathered 13.94 points to 2,796.86
Overall, U.S. stocks have struggled this month, as optimism over upbeat corporate earnings has been tempered by signs the economy could be entering a slowdown this summer.
The three major gauges are on track to post losses for the week, and are down about 3% for the month. But analysts say the market is still headed higher this year.
Trading was subdued Friday, as investors are often reluctant to place big bets ahead of a long weekend. The stock market will be closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
Marvell Technologies shares jumped 11% on Friday after the company issued an upbeat second-quarter profit outlook.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda all reported sharp declines in sales and production during April, as the fallout from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami continue to take a toll on Japan's auto industry. Shares of the big three major Japanese automakers edged lower.
PayPal sued Google for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to mobile payment technology. Shares of PayPal's parent company eBay and Google edged higher.
Economically speaking, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for May unexpectedly rose to a reading of 74.3. Economists had expected a reading of 72.4.
Elsewhere, the National Association of Realtors said Friday that pending home sales plunged 11.6% in April, considerably worse than the 1.4% drop that economists had expected.
Personal income and spending by individuals both rose 0.4% in April. Income data was in line with Briefing.com estimates, while economists had forecast a 0.5% increase for spending.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury ended flat, pushing the yield down to 3.06%, same as Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil for July delivery gained 44 cents to $100.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $12.90 to $1,535.50 U.S. an ounce.
