Translate
Mar. 16, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Resource stocks and financials continued to lead Toronto's main index higher Tuesday afternoon. The price of gold and oil climbed significantly as the greenback moved lower, ahead of a key interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 80.60 points on the day to 12,089.40.
The Gold Index gained, as Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1.9% to $40.64, Goldcorp Inc. added 1.6% to $40.62 and Yamana Gold Inc. rose 1.7% to $10.35.
The Financials Index gained ground, too, with TD Bank up 2.3% to $75.02 and BMO up 1.1% to $61.04. Power Corporation of Canada was up, but only 0.3% to $30.38.
The Westaim Corporation surged 10.5% at 74 cents after the investmant company announced that independent proxy advisory firm RiskMetrics Group recommended its clients to vote in favour of approving a financing resolution related to the issuance of up to 550 million common shares of Westaim.
Among energy stocks, Crew Energy Inc. rose 3.1% to $17.07 and Petrobakken Energy Ltd. added 0.7% to $27.08.
The Information Technology Index faded, as Open Text Corp. lost 1.3% to $49.78 and Research In Motion Ltd. shed 1.3% to $76.19.
BioExx Specialty Proteins Ltd, which announced plans to raise approximately $15.0 million by offering 8.15 million common shares on a bought deal basis at a price of $1.85 per share, gave in 3.1% at $1.91.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales in the country rose for the fifth month by 2.4% to $44.6 billion in January, rising for the fifth straight month. Primary metal manufacturers led the gains, adding 8.5% from December.
In another report, labour productivity in Canadian businesses was up 1.4% in the fourth quarter, increasing for the first time since the third quarter of 2008. Economists were expecting the productivity to grow by 0.7% after dropping 0.2% in December.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.47 cents to 98.61 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, gold posted the strongest gains of the 11 groups in the green, at 2.1%. Materials were next, gaining 1.5%, while metals and mining groups moved up 1.3%.
The three laggards were information technology, off 0.5%, telecoms, down 0.2%, and consumer discretionaries, sliding a mere 0.03%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was ahead 17.02 points to 1,578.53, while the Nasdaq Canada index was flat to 808.64.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rose Tuesday, with the S&P 500 ending at an 18-month high, after the Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rates at historic lows and Standard & Poor's did not downgrade Greece's credit rating.
The Dow Jones industrial average was 43.83 points in the green to 10,685.98. The S&P 500 index moved higher by 8.95 points to 1,159.46, and the Nasdaq composite gained 15.80 points to 2,378.01.
In a widely expected move, the Federal Reserve announced plans to hold its benchmark interest rate at historic lows near zero percent, the level at which the rate has been since December 2008. Echoing past statements, the Fed added that rates will remain "exceptionally low" for an "extended period" of time.
The Fed said economic conditions continue to improve and that the job market is stabilizing. While the Fed expects economic growth to be "moderate" in the short run, the bankers said activity could pick up in the future as inflation remains tame.
As previously announced, the Fed said its plan to buy $1.25 trillion U.S. in mortgage-backed securities will end later this month.
Intel jumped 3.6% after the chip maker unveiled new processors it says can deliver up to 60% greater performance than the previous generation processor.
Shares of General Electric rose 4% after the conglomerate said during a conference with analysts that it expects higher profits and dividend payments in 2011.
Boston Scientific recovered from a drubbing in the previous session to trade 4.7% higher. Shares of the medical device maker fell 16% Monday after the company halted delivery on some implantable defibrillators because it neglected to notify federal regulators of a manufacturing change.
Sony and the estate of Michael Jackson have signed a landmark music deal for 10 albums over seven years. The deal is said to be worth as much as $250 million U.S.
Lehman Brothers Holdings submitted a proposal to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York to resolve the biggest Chapter 11 filing in Wall Street history.
The defunct brokerage, which collapsed in September 2008, would form a subsidiary -- called LAMCO -- to oversee its remaining assets, which include commercial real estate, residential mortgages and derivatives, among other things.
On the economic front, new home construction fell 5.9% to an annual rate of 575,000 in February, according to a government report, from an upwardly revised 622,000 during the previous month.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected housing starts to have fallen to an annual rate of 570,000 during the month.
The report said building permits sipped 1.6% to an annual rate of 612,000 in February. They were expected to have fallen to an annual rate of 601,000 during the month.
A separate reading showed import prices slipped 0.3% in February, posting the first decline since July 2009. Excluding fuel, import prices gained 0.2%. Import prices in January were revised to climb 1.3%.
Export prices slipped 0.5% last month, following a revised 0.7% rise in January.
The price of the 10-year note fell, boosting the yield to 3.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil picked up 11 cents to $81.81 U.S.
Gold prices raced ahead $17 to $1,122 U.S.