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Mar. 10, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Canadian stocks opened higher Wednesday on firm commodities prices and on encouraging economic data from China, one of Canada's largest export destinations.
The S&P/TSX composite index began Wednesday's session ahead 49.84 points to 11,968.55.
The price of oil was up in pre-market action, after OPEC raised its oil demand forecast for 2010, while bullion also improved in price.
In news positive to oil producers, Alberta may reduce energy royalties to spur investment in this sector, the Globe and Mail reported.
Integrated oil company Husky Energy announced plans to issue $700 million in medium term notes in two tranches.
Oil field services company Canyon Services Group slipped to loss in fourth quarter, reporting net loss of $0.05 per share, compared to profit of $0.19 per share in the prior year quarter.
Financial services provider Pinetree Capital swung to profit in the fourth quarter, posting net income of $0.15 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.71 per share in the previous-year period.
Merchandise leasing company easyhome Ltd. reported a lower fourth-quarter net income of $0.14 per share, compared with $0.17 per share last year.
Gold explorer Minco Gold Corp. Tuesday announced it has discovered a large gold zone on its Oujiaba property in China. The stock rose nearly 60% to $1.50 on Tuesday.
Bio-pharmaceutical company Helix BioPharma reported a narrower loss in the second quarter at $0.06 per share, compared to $0.08 per share in the year-ago period.
Bio-pharmaceutical company QLT Inc. reported multifold growth in its fourth-quarter net income at $1.49 per share, compared to $0.08 per share last year. However, on a non-GAAP basis, the company posted breakeven per share.
Logistic technology services provider Descartes Systems Group said its fourth-quarter net income declined to $0.17 per share from $0.29 per share in the prior year period. The adjusted earnings came in at $0.08 per share in line with analysts' estimates.
Media company Quebecor Inc. said it had turned to profit, reporting fourth-quarter net income of $1.12 per share, compared to net loss of $5.34 per share last year.
In brokerage updates, Scotiabank cuts its rating on Celestica Inc to "sector perform" from "sector outperform". Raymond James initiated coverage of Shoppers Drug Mart with an "outperform" rating. RBC cuts Scotiabank price target to $53 from $54.
The Canadian dollar was flat to 97.45 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but two of the 14 TSX subgroups began the day higher. Metals and mining stocks led the pack, moving upward 1.7%, followed by global base metals, adding 0.8%, while telecoms were 0.7% better.
The two laggards were information technology and utility stocks, off 0.2% each.
The TSX Venture Exchange put on 4.11 points to 1,562.87, while the Nasdaq Canada index progressed 11.02 points to 799.07.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks drifted higher at Wednesday's open ahead of the first major economic readings of the week.
The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 22.07 points to 10,586.45. The S&P 500 index moved up 3.58 points to 1,144.03, and the Nasdaq composite ran ahead 8.28 points to 2,348.96
Stocks have been lackluster this week as investors stepped back to mull what direction markets are headed. On Tuesday, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq nudged higher.
One expert said investors are showing confidence from signs of economic activity on Tuesday, such as Abbott Labs' acquisition of Facet Biotech and J. Crew's report that revenue jumped 19% in the fourth quarter.
Investors will take in a reading on state unemployment data for January, which was due out at 10 a.m. ET.
A report on wholesale inventories is also due out then. A gain of 0.2% is expected for January, according to a consensus of economist forecasts from Briefing.com.
Later in the day, the Treasury budget will be released. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect a February deficit of $221 billion U.S., compared to a deficit of $42.6 billion U.S. in January.
Treasury prices dipped, raising yields for the benchmark 10-year note to 3.73% from Tuesday's 3.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil dropped 10 cents to $81.39 U.S.
Gold prices added a dollar at $1,123 U.S.