Stock fortunes improve

Real-estate leads TSX surge

Apr. 29, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --

The Toronto stock market climbed to its highest levels of the day at mid-afternoon Thursday as a Greek bailout moved closer to fruition amid promises for massive spending cuts from Athens.

The S&P/TSX composite index leaped 123.43 points, or 1%, to end the day at 12,200.32.

The Toronto energy sector was up, as Shares in Suncor Energy Inc. added 52 cents to $34.09.

The gold sector added strength amid some upbeat earnings.

Shares in Centerra Gold Inc. jumped 50 cents or 4.6% to $11.09 after the company said it earned $122.1 million in its latest quarter as revenue more than doubled compared with a year ago.

And Goldcorp Inc. stock added four cents to $43.03 after the company reported a loss of $52.7 million U.S. in its first quarter, weighed down by a $212.2-million foreign exchange charge.

Excluding the foreign exchange charges, its adjusted earnings were $163.1 million.

Toronto's base metals sector lost ground as the May copper contract on the Nymex fell 3.5 cents to $3.33 U.S. a pound.

In earnings, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., exceeded expectations with first-quarter earnings of $449.2 million. The company said higher demand for its products in the quarter signals a longer-term rebound as farmers catch up on fertilizer applications they missed last year. Shares in Potash Corp. added $1.49 to $111.23.

Oil-and-gas producer Cenovus Energy reported a slight improvement in profit to $525 million and a big increase in first-quarter sales at both its production and refining operations. Shares in Cenovus rose $1.30 or 4.6% to $29.89.

Theatre equipment maker Imax Corp. said its quarterly profit hit a record $26.6 million U.S. in the first three months of this year, helped by blockbuster 3-D hits "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland." Imax stock fell 67 cents or more than 3.3% to $19.81.

And shares in transportation giant Bombardier Inc. gained 29 cents or 5.6% to $5.47, despite news that U.S. air-safety regulators are ordering fixes to the company's Q400 turboprops to prevent stalls in icy conditions.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said today non-farm payroll employment edged up by 8,300 or 0.1% in February

The Canadian dollar got closer to parity with the greenback, regaining 0.28 cents to 99.45 cents U.S.

ON BAYSTREET

All but three of the 14 TSX subgroups were up on the day. Real-estate led the charge, gaining 1.9%, industrials were 1.8% better and financials grew 1.6%.

The three laggards were metals and mining stocks, down 1.3%, utilities were off 0.5% and global base metals, sliding 0.2%.

The TSX Venture Exchange settled into the red by 0.38 points to 1,659.97, while the Nasdaq Canada index pulled ahead 5.03 points to 797.62

ON WALLSTREET

In New York, stocks jumped Thursday, with the blue-chip Dow index ending more than 120 points higher, as investors reacted to a rise in Exxon Mobil earnings and brushed off concerns about European debt problems.

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 122.05 points, or 1.1%, to finish at 11,167.32.

The S&P 500 index picked up 15.41 points to 1,206.77. The Nasdaq composite index added 40.19 points to 2,511.92.

Gains were broad-based, with 27 of the 30 Dow components ending higher. Financial shares led the advance, and the tech sector got a boost after Hewlett-Packard said late Wednesday it will buy struggling smart phone maker Palm for $1.2 billion U.S., although HP's stock ended 0.8% lower.

On Wednesday, the Dow rose back above 11,000 after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and said the economy is improving. The central bank's pledge to keep interest rates low helped investors turn their focus away from the debt issues in Europe.

On Tuesday, rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the sovereign debt ratings of Greece to junk status and lowered Portugal's investment grade status. On Wednesday, S&P also downgraded its investment grade rating of Spain's long-term debt.

Worries about Greece have abated recently as European officials seem to be nearing agreement on a rescue package for the debt-laden nation.

Greece's economy is one of the smaller ones in the euro-zone, Hogan noted, so its debt rating is not as much of a concern as that of a larger country like Spain or Italy. Even though Spain was downgraded Wednesday, the move was not major because it remains investment grade.

As long as a country's debt is investment grade -- which means it can still be used as collateral -- any downgrades are considered merely what experts call "warning shots." Unless a major economy's debt is downgraded to junk status, euro-zone concern should remain contained, he added.

Several big corporations reported their quarterly results before the opening bell Thursday.

Exxon Mobil reported a surge in earnings but still missed Wall Street expectations. The oil giant said it earned $1.33 U.S. per share in the first quarter, which fell short of the $1.41 U.S. per share forecast by a consensus of analyst opinions from Thomson Reuters. The stock closed 0.9% lower.

Aetna managed to beat expectations when it reported operating earnings of 98 cents U.S. per share for the first quarter, compared to 96 cents U.S. in the prior year. Excluding certain charges, EPS was 77 cents U.S., the insurer said. Analysts had forecast EPS of 68 cents U.S.

Procter & Gamble reported a profit for its third quarter that managed to edge above expectations. The company reported earnings of 83 cents U.S. per share, which was slightly lower than its year-earlier EPS of 84 cents U.S. Analysts expected EPS of 82 cents U.S.

Viacom reported a surge in profit for the quarter, with diluted earnings of 40 cents U.S. per share. That was a 38% jump from 29 cents U.S. per share in the year-earlier quarter.

Economically speaking, the Senate officially started debate of Wall Street reform late Wednesday, after three days of standoff and three failed votes to move forward. Republicans waived their right to block the bill, after it became clear Democrats had clinched the 60 votes needed to end the filibuster.

The government released its weekly report on initial claims for unemployment benefits before the opening bell Thursday. The number of first-time filers fell 11,000 to 448,000 in the week ended April 24. Analysts expected a drop to 445,000 new claims.

Also on Thursday morning, the House Financial Services committee held a hearing on potential implications of the Greece crisis.

Treasury prices gained on the day, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.73% from Wednesday's 3.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The price of a barrel of oil gained $2.13 to $85.35 U.S.

Gold prices faded five dollars to $1,167 U.S. an ounce.