Canada's resource-heavy main stock index opened higher on Thursday as commodity prices climbed after solid demand at Spanish and French debt auctions eased investor fears about Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
The S&P TSX Composite Index gained 54.56 points soon after the opening bell to 12,382.08
The Canadian dollar hiked 0.23 cents to 99.12 cents U.S.
Among Canadian stocks to watch, oil and gas concern PetroBakken Energy Ltd. said it would sell its 2.2% interest in its non-core southeast Saskatchewan Weyburn assets for $105 million.
Grain handler Viterra reported lower profit than expected for the quarter, weighed down by increased costs at its grain handling facilities and fierce competition in the feed market.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada told us this morning that manufacturing sales in this country rose 2% in November to $49.6 billion, the fourth such hike in five months, largely the result of gains in the motor vehicle and petroleum industries, as well as machinery sales.
Experts had called for a jump of about 1.8%.
Elsewhere, the number of those collecting Employment Insurance benefits was practically unchanged in November from the month before at 539,000.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 7.93 points to 1,557.98, while the Nasdaq Canada index tacked on five points to 413.49
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green in the session’s first hour.
Information technology vied with health-care as the index’s top gaining group, each up 1.3%, while financials grew 1%.
The three laggards were gold, off 0.4%, consumer staples, down 0.1%, and global base metals, easing off 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, markets began the day mixed, as investors digested bank earnings and a host of economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials started Thursday by giving back 2.73 points to 12,576.20.
The S&P 500 moved higher, though, by 4.41 points to 1,312.45, while the Nasdaq Composite hiked 8.95 points to 2,778.66.
Bank of America reported fourth-quarter earnings in line with expectations. Morgan Stanley posted a loss, but it wasn't as deep as analysts had expected.
Goldman Sachs rose in premarket trading, a day after reporting earnings that beat estimates and revenue that missed. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase both filed disappointing results in the past week, while Wells Fargo beat expectations on earnings.
Eastman Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday. Once a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, the company was recently trading around 39 cents U.S. a share.
UnitedHealth Group reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts.
Some of the nation's biggest tech firms will report their corporate results after the closing bell Thursday -- including Google, IBM, Intel and Microsoft.
Google is expected to post robust earnings of $10.49 U.S. a share, up from $8.75 U.S. a year earlier. Microsoft's earnings are expected to remain essentially flat compared to the prior year, at 76 cents U.S. a share. IBM's earnings per share are projected to climb from $4.18 U.S. a year earlier to $4.62 U.S.
U.S. stocks advanced to six-month highs Wednesday, as investors welcomed the International Monetary Fund plan to boost its bailout fund and contain Europe's debt crisis.
Investors remain focused on Europe's crisis this week, with the IMF exploring options to raise up to $500 billion U.S. in additional lending resources.
Early Thursday, Spanish and French bond auctions drew solid demand, calming some fears about Europe's ability to fund its debt.
Greek officials will continue talks with the group representing private-sector investors and banks Thursday in an attempt to reach an agreement on the size of the writedown these creditors will take. No accord has yet been announced, but the creditors' representative says one may come in the days ahead.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department reported that 352,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits last week, down sharply from a revised reading of 402,000 claims in the previous week. It is also the fewest number of people filing for jobless claims since the week ending April 19, 2008.
Consumer prices held steady last month, largely due to declining gas prices. The government's key measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, showed prices were virtually unchanged from November to December.
The index for items minute food and energy rose 0.1% in December, after rising 0.2% in November.
Housing starts fell 4.1% in December, to an annual rate of 657,000 units. Building permits slipped 0.1% to an annual rate of 679,000.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note eased, pushing yields up to 1.94% from Wednesday’s 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery acquired 71 cents to $101.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery ticked up 50 cents to $1,660.40 U.S. an ounce, losing momentum from earlier gains.
