The Toronto stock market was up Friday as commodity prices moved sharply higher amid hopes that Europe will come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with its crippling debt crisis, albeit a few days later than planned.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day ahead 119.16 points, or 1%, to 11,949.49
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, moved forward 0.64 cents to 99.13 cents U.S.
The willingness to take on extra risk pushed commodity prices sharply higher with Suncor Energy rising 26 cents to $30.16 and Canadian Natural Resources up $1.12 to $33.55.
The base metals sector rose as copper prices recovered somewhat with the December contract ahead 15 cents to $3.21 U.S. after tumbling 20 cents on Thursday. First Quantum Minerals was up 88 cents to $15.93 and Teck Resources was ahead 56 cents to $34.72.
Railroad stocks rose alongside mining stocks with Canadian National Railways ahead $1.12 to $75.00.
The gold sector ran ahead, though Barrick Gold Corp. slipped two cents to $44.92 and Kinross Gold Corp. was ahead a penny to $13.78.
Gains were broad-based with the financial sector ahead as TD Bank improved by 72 cents to $74.44.
Precision Drilling Corp. shares declined 60 cents to $11.00 as it reported quarterly profit of $83 million or 29 cents per diluted share, up from $56 million a year ago. Revenues rose 37% to nearly $493 million from $359.1 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were on average expecting Precision to report earnings of 21 cents per share and revenues of $511 million.
Shares in electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc. added 10 cents to $8.00 after the company said it expects revenue to fall about 3% in its fourth quarter as many customers slash orders amid economic uncertainty.
The comment from CEO Craig Muhlhauser came as Celestica reported Thursday that third-quarter revenue was up 18% from a year ago to $1.83 billion. Net earnings came in at $50.2 million U.S., compared with a profit of $21.3 million U.S. a year ago.
Elsewhere, Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants have agreed to binding arbitration to settle their contract dispute. Hearings are to begin Oct. 28 and a binding arbitration award is to be made by Nov. 7.
The labour board will appoint an arbitrator if the two sides can’t agree on one and the carrier’s shares were flat at $1.36.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Canada's annual core inflation rate jumped in September to its highest level since December 2008 to 2.2%, causing traders to scale back rate cut expectations and boosting the Canadian dollar.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange improved 20.12 points to 1,532.91 while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 8.74 points to 443.27
All 14 Toronto subgroups but one were positive at the closing bell. Metals and mining stocks picked up 3.%, global base metals jumped 2.4%, and industrial stocks were 1.9% stronger.
The only naysayer was in telecoms, sliding 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rallied to the highest levels since early August on Friday, as investors grew increasingly hopeful that a resolution to Europe's debt crisis is around the corner
The Dow Jones Industrials rocketed 267.01 points, or 2.3%, to close at 11,808.80, led by American Express, Travelers Cos. and Walt Disney
The S&P 500 spiked 22.86 points to 1,238.25, while the Nasdaq Composite Index leaped 38.84 points to 2,637.46.
Friday's gains pushed the Dow back into positive territory for 2011, with all three indexes on track for their best monthly performance in more than a year.
Investors were also heartened by a batch of positive corporate news.
McDonald's shares advanced after the fast-food giant's earnings beat expectations, driven by higher sales of new menu items as well as traditional staples.
Chipotle's stock climbed after the Mexican food chain topped earnings and sales estimates for the third quarter. The company also improved its forecast for same-store sales for the year.
Shares of Harman International jumped after the car equipment maker delivered earnings that trounced Wall Street's expectations.
Altera's stock spiked after a Citigroup analyst said the company's soft sales guidance for the fourth quarter is likely too conservative.
Shares of Honeywell rose after the company beat earnings expectations and raised its forecast for the year.
Shares of General Electric slid after the company announced earnings of 31 cents U.S. per share in the third quarter, up two cents from a year earlier and in line with expectations.
Shares of Wells Fargo advanced along with other financials including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase
Thursday night, Wells Fargo admitted that it sent the wrong bank statements to customers in Southern states -- but it wouldn't confirm news reports that thousands were affected.
Ford shares moved higher after Standard and Poor's upgraded the automaker's credit rating by two notches to BB+, just one level below investment-grade. The ratings agency cited Ford's deal with the United Auto Workers union.
Groupon reduced the amount of money it hopes to raise in its initial public offering by 28% to $540 million U.S. The company is putting 30 million shares up for sale, hoping they'll receive between $16 and $18 U.S. a piece.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks erased a mid-afternoon drop and ended mostly higher, as European leaders confirmed that they will meet multiple times over the next week to approve a key plan to resolve Europe's debt crisis.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said late Thursday that the elements of a comprehensive response to Europe's debt crisis will be discussed in depth at Sunday's European Council summit, and a plan is expected to be unveiled next Wednesday.
With expectations rising, investors pushed stocks up through the narrow range they've been trading between since early August. But, of course, the market remains vulnerable to any piece of bad news.
On the economic front, investors will be listening to speeches from voting members of the Federal Reserve's policymaking committee for hints about whether the central bank is considering another asset-buying program to boost the economy.
Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said that the Fed is "prepared to employ our tools as appropriate to foster a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability."
In a speech Thursday evening, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo called upon the Fed to start buying more mortgage-backed securities.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slid once again, raising the yield to 2.20% from 2.18% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery travelled higher by $1.38 to $87.45 U.S. a barrel
Gold futures for December delivery added $23.20, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,636.10 U.S. an ounce.
