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Dec. 1, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --
Bay Street stocks soared on Tuesday, boosted by record gold prices. Markets in Europe and the U.S. also saw notable strength.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index surged 260.12 points or 2.27% to close at 11,707.32.
Gold stocks rallied 5.3% as the precious metal touched above $1,200 U.S. on the Comex. Barrick Gold surged 7.4%, Iamgold gained 7.2% and Goldcorp added 6.4%.
Rogers Communication announced it filed a legal claim against Bell Canada in the dispute over which wireless company can claim to be Canada's largest, fastest or most reliable. Rogers closed up 3.4% and BCE gained 1%.
Mining stocks were up, as HudBay and Inmet each added 2.7%, and First Quantum was up 2.3%.
In corporate news, Enerflex Systems has added 2.7% after its board recommended rejecting a takeover offer from Toromont Industries. Toromont added 0.25%.
Baytex Energy Trust added 4.8% after the company revealed an increase to its 2010 capital budget for exploration and development activities to $235 million from $165 million in 2009. Baytex also plans to convert into a corporation by the end of 2010.
Rutter jumped 11.5% after the company reported net earnings for the fourth quarter of $310,000, compared to a loss of $18.40 million in the previous-year quarter.
Canadian Pacific gained 2.3% after the company said it will make a $500-million voluntary payment to its pension plan as rival Canadian National Railway deals with a strike.
Manulife Financial gained 1.1% after the company announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase the new headquarters building of Export Development Canada in downtown Ottawa from a joint venture of Broccolini Construction and the Canderel Group of Companies.
Meanwhile, Canadian Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty expressed optimism the nation will see improved economic growth in 2010.
The Canadian dollar moved forward 1.02 cents to 95.59 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All 14 TSX subgroups were positive throughout the day. Gold leaped 5.3%, followed by materials, up 4.9% and metals and mining, picking up 2.6%.
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 35.43 points to close at 1,450.49, while the Nasdaq Canada advanced 20.70 points to 667.11.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, Stocks rallied Tuesday as worries about Dubai's debt problems eased, gold hit a record above $1,200 and GE and Comcast moved closer to a deal on NBC Universal.
Investors also kept an eye on auto sales, which were down from October but mostly higher from a year ago, and the day's better-than-expected economic readings on construction spending and pending home sales.
Bank shares led a late-session advance Monday as investors bet Dubai's debt problems won't have a major impact on U.S. institutions. Such bets continued to support stocks Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials picked up 126.74 points, or 1.2%, to end the day at 10,479.14, its highest point since Oct. 2, 2008. The S&P 500 index gained 13.23 points to 1,108.86, while the Nasdaq zoomed up 31.21 points to 2,175.81.
Bank shares led a late-session advance Monday as investors bet Dubai's debt problems won't have a major impact on U.S. institutions. Such bets continued to support stocks Tuesday.
AIG said it is wiping out $25 billion U.S. of its government debt by selling stakes in two of its life insurance subsidiaries to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Shares gained 7%.
General Electric has reportedly reached a deal to buy Vivendi SA's 20% stake in NBC Universal for about $5.8 billion U.S., moving GE closer to its goal of partnering with Comcast to create one of the largest U.S. media companies.
GE is looking to sell a 51% stake in NBC Universal to Comcast, while retaining a 49% stake in the company that is valued at around $30 billion U.S.
Economically speaking, the November manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management fell to 53.6 from 55.7 in October, surprising economists who were looking for ISM to fall to 55.
However, any reading over 50 implies expansion in the sector.
Signed contracts to buy homes rose 3.7% in October, the ninth monthly increase in a row, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Tuesday. Pending home sales were expected to have fallen 1% after rising 6% previously.
Elsewhere, construction spending in October was unchanged, the government reported. Spending fell 1.6% in September and was expected to have fallen 0.5% in October, according to analysts' estimates.
Major automakers reported sales in November that met or topped expectations. But any improvements year-over-year were easy, given the dismal results in November 2008. On a monthly basis, sales slumped from October levels.
Among the standouts: General Motors reported a 1.8% drop in November sales from a year ago, versus forecasts for a drop of 1.3%. But sales were down 15% from October levels. Ford Motor's sales were little changed from a year ago and down 10% from October.
President Obama is due to announce his strategy on Afghanistan in a speech Tuesday night from West Point.
Treasury prices dove, boosting the yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.28% from Monday's 3.19%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gained $1.09 to $77.89 U.S.
Gold prices added another $18 to $1,200 U.S., yet another all-time record