The Toronto stock market was in positive territory Friday afternoon as investors took in rising commodity prices and mixed Canadian economic data.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 60.33 points to close at 13,494.63
The Canadian dollar eased 0.64 cents to 105.38 cents U.S.
In the oil patch, shares in Canadian Natural Resources added 23 cents to $41.59.
The materials index on the TSX was up, with shares in Barrick Gold Corp. up 1.6% or 77 cents to $47.64. The September copper contract added two cents at $4.41 U.S. a pound. Shares in base metals miner Teck Resources Ltd. were down 34 cents to $50.11.
In Canadian corporate news, Precision Drilling Corp. recovered with a second-quarter profit of $16.4 million, above a loss of $69.4 million a year ago. Revenues grew 31.9% to $345.3 million from $261.8 million. Shares gained 8.1%, or $1.25, to $16.64.
Celestica Inc. says profits rose to $45.7 million, or 21 cents per share in the second quarter, compared to a profit of $13 million, or six cents a share, in the same period last year.
Revenues rose to $1.83 billion from a year-earlier $1.59 billion. Its shares rose 10.5% or 84 cents to $8.88.
TMX Group Inc. shares gained 1.4% or 60 cents to $44.50 after it announced late Thursday plans to hold formal discussions with Maple Group Acquisition Corp.
The Maple Group has made a $3.7-billion takeover bid for the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Its directors aren’t making any recommendation to shareholders regarding Maple’s offer, adding there is no guarantee that any agreement between the two sides will come out of the talks.
On the economic side, inflation rose 3.1% in the 12 months to June, primarily the result of higher prices for gasoline and food purchased from stores. Statistics Canada also said this morning that retail sales edged up 0.1% in May, with gains in most sectors held in check by declines at motor vehicle and parts dealers and at food and beverage stores.
The Bank of Canada signaled earlier this week that it may raise rates sooner rather than later, but Friday’s inflation data removes some of the urgency to raise rates and curb inflation.
The central bank will also factor in external developments in its September decision, such as an agreement Thursday by European countries on the sovereign debt crisis aimed at staving off another global economic crisis, and expectations that U.S. policy-makers will be able to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, according to some experts at RBC Economics
RBC now predicts that Canada’s economy picked up steam in May with real GDP expected to increase by 0.2%, followed by a similar increase in June. May GDP data comes out next
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 20.55 points to 2,059.60, while the Nasdaq Canada index regained 2.28 points to 567.54
In Toronto, all but three of the 14 subgroups improved on the day. Gold and materials leaped 1.5% each, and consumer staples moved 0.8% higher.
The three laggards were consumer discretionary stocks, down 0.4%, while industrials and financials each slid 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were mixed Friday, as strong gains in the technology sector were offset by disappointing results out of industrial conglomerate Caterpillar.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 43.25 points to close at 12,681.20, with Caterpillar shares sinking more than 5%. The construction equipment maker was the weakest member of Dow and the third-worst performer on the S&P 500. Caterpillar's earnings fell short of forecasts.
Caterpillar's disappointing report dragged other equipment manufacturers lower as well, including shares of Deere, Cummins and Joy Global
The S&P 500 eked ahead 1.22 points to 1,345.02. However, the Nasdaq Composite Index moved higher by 24.40 points to 2,858.83
The Nasdaq's gains were fueled primarily by two chip makers: Sandisk and Advanced Micro Devices -- after both companies posted better-than-expected results and raised their full-year revenue forecasts. Sandisk shares climbed 10% while AMD shares jumped 17%.
Both companies' gains spilled over into other Nasdaq-traded tech firms, including Micron, Microchip Technology and Seagate, which were all up more than 3%.
While some more bearish traders pointed to Caterpillar's results as a sign there is still weakness in the economy, others felt that Caterpillar's weakness appeared to be more temporary.
Other industrial conglomerates such as General Electric and Honeywell which also reported Friday, had decidedly better results, which one expert said is an indication that Caterpillar's problems seem to be isolated.
Friday's weakness came a day after U.S. stocks surged, following news that European leaders reached an agreement to contain Greece's debt crisis.
The aid package, which officials said will cover all of Greece's financing needs, involves lowering interest rates and extending the payback period on existing loans to Greece from the EU and International Monetary Fund.
General Electric reported operating earnings of $3.7 billion U.S. or 34 cents per share -- a jump of 17% from the year-ago quarter. Shares fell less than 1%.
CoinStar shares dropped 6%, after the head of the company's RedBox unit unexpectedly resigned on Friday. CoinStar makes the bulk of its profits from RedBox.
Shares of Verizon fell 3%, after the company announced it didn't sell as many iPhones as anticipated, despite reporting stronger-than-expected earnings. The company reported quarterly earnings per share of 57 cents U.S, topping analyst estimates by two cents.
Former Dow member Honeywell beat analyst estimates with second-quarter earnings of $1.02 per share. The company reported revenue of $9.1 billion U.S., excluding $234 million U.S. from a newly discontinued operation. Shares fell about 2%.
McDonald's reported earnings of $1.35 U.S. per share, compared to $1.13 in year-ago quarter. Shares rose 3% - making it the best-performing stock on the Dow.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, dropping the yield to 2.96% from 3.01% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil for August delivery faded 15 cents to $99.72 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery climbed $14.50 to $1,601.50 U.S. an ounce.
