TSX vaults higher

Nov. 23, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --

Bay Street stocks rose on Monday, led by commodity-backed sectors. The rise followed the lead of markets in the U.S. and Europe. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 98.09 points at noon to 11,677.42 Gold stocks and materials stocks added strength as gold extended its record high again. Iamgold has gained 4%, Agnico-Eagle Mines has added 3.7% and Eldorado is up 2.3%. Silver Wheaton has rallied 3.6% after the stock was upgraded to "outperform" from "sector perform". Mining stocks are also up, as First Quantum Minerals has added 4.2% after the company reached a deal to acquire Kiwara in a cash and stock deal with GBP 43.68. Energy stocks have gained, as Canadian Natural Resources has added 2.4%, Suncor is up 2.2% and Canadian Oil Sands has gained 2.1%. Husky Energy has added 0.8% after the company announced the discovery of additional oil resources in the White Rose area. Economically speaking, Stats Canada reported retail sales rose 1% in September, compared to a 0.95% jump in the previous month. A rise of 0.4% was forecast. Excluding autos, sales were up 1.1%, compared to a revised 0.65% jump in August. The Canadian dollar gained 1.27 cents to 94.75 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups were positive by midday. Gold improved 1.8%, while metals and mining stocks was up 1.5%, while materials was ahead 1.4%. Only utilities went south, and 0.2% at that. The TSX Venture Exchange raced ahead 20 points to 1,428.06, while the Nasdaq Canada picked up 13.22 to 667.67 ON WALLSTREET In New York, equities rallied Monday morning after a report showed home sales surged to the highest level in 2-1/2 years and the falling dollar goosed commodities, sending gold to another record. The Dow Jones Industrials was still solidly ahead by lunchtime, 138.30 points, or 1.3%, to 10,456.46. The S&P 500 index gained 16.41 points to 1,107.79, while the Nasdaq added 31.02 points to 2,177.06. Stock gains were broad-based Monday, with 29 of 30 Dow issues rising, led by Boeing, Caterpillar, Chevron, IBM, 3M, Procter & Gamble and Exxon Mobil The Dow's financial shares rallied too, including American Express and JPMorgan Chase. Hewlett-Packard rallied ahead of its quarterly results due out after the close tonight. Last week, the company said it expects to earn $1.14 U.S. per share, up 10% from a year ago. Stocks slipped for the last three sessions, ending last week mixed, as investors pulled back a bit after pushing the Dow to a 13-month high. But Monday's news brought in a new wave of buying. One expert said that after October's slight pullback, November has clearly been another "up" month for investors, with the S&P 500 climbing around 6%. And, King added, there is little on tap between now and year end to disrupt the flow, although the pace of gains are likely to slow. Trading is expected to lighten up in the sessions leading up to Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. All financial markets will be closed Thursday and stocks will close early on Friday. On the economic front, existing home sales in October surged to the highest level since February 2007, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Monday morning. Sales rose 10.1% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units, versus a revised 5.54 million units in September. Economists expected sales of 5.7 million units, on average. The strong sales were largely driven by buyers trying to tax advantage of the government's first-time homebuyer tax credit, which was initially due to expire at the end of November. The credit has now been extended to the end of April and includes a broader range of buyers. Investors have been looking for the economic news to confirm what many economists say: the recession, which began in December 2007, is over. In particular, a recovery in the housing market is critical as the credit crisis and housing market collapse deepened the economic crisis. Treasury prices were down, raising the yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.38% from Friday's 3.36%. The price of a barrel of oil improved $1.47 to $78.94 U.S. Gold prices added to its record high, tacking on $23 to read $1,169 U.S.