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Mar. 10, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
The Toronto stock market saw fair progress Wednesday, losing earlier momentum as oil and gold prices softened.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day ahead 42.35 points to 11,961.06.
The TSX Global gold index was on the downside, as Barrick Gold Corp. declined 84 cents to $39.70 while Goldcorp Inc. faded 94 cents to $40.51.
The energy sector still maintained a gain, as Canadian Natural Resources was up 77 cents to $75.60.
The base metals sector was up, even as May copper shed three cents at $3.37 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gained 55 cents to $41.59 while Sherritt International gained 23 cents to $8.90.
The telecom sector also advanced Rogers Communications gained 66 cents to $35.06.
Media company Quebecor Inc. said it had a $73.8-million profit in the fourth quarter. The company had a $343.6-million loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 as it wrote down the value of goodwill and other intangible assets. Revenue grew $25.6 million to just under $1.03 billion. Quebecor shares rose $1.45 to $33.67.
The dollar lost some headway, as currency trading Wednesday came amid a report from CIBC World Markets that said expectations of higher interest rates and investor demand for Canada will help drive the loonie past parity with the U.S. greenback by this summer.
In Canada, the TSX has been lower all week following a sharp 3% gain last week, finally surpassing the level where it started the year, as investors responded to higher commodity prices and a slew of positive bank earnings.
Analysts said the back-and-forth action could be a factor in markets for some time.
In other Canadian corporate news, shares in agribusiness Viterra Inc. ran ahead 23 cents to $9.88 after it announced Wednesday it has a deal to acquire Dakota Growers Pasta Co. Inc. in an all-cash transaction that values Dakota at $240 million U.S.
The deal for Dakota was announced on the same day that Viterra said it earned $10.7 million in the first quarter, reversing a net loss of $33 million a year ago.
Business software company Descartes Systems Group reported net income of $10.3 million U.S. or 17 cents per share for the quarter ended Jan. 31. The profit was down from a year earlier when the company booked earnings of $15.4 million or 29 cents per share. Quarterly revenue surged 20% to $18.9 million, led by a jump in services revenues.
Its shares were a nickel higher at $6.40.
A major creditor of Canwest Global Communications said it will stand behind Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs as it fights the sale of Canwest's television assets.
Catalyst Capital Group Inc. said it "strongly supports" Goldman Sachs' move to kill the sale of the broadcast TV channels to cable operator Shaw Communications Inc., a deal approved last month by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Shaw shares gained four cents to $20.39.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.05 cents to 97.50 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine were up on the day. Metals and mining came out the champion, gaining 1.3%, followed by telecoms, up 1.2%, and energy stocks advanced 0.7%.
The decliners were weighed by gold's 1.3% slide, while utilities and materials faded 0.6% each.
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 1.96 points to 1,556.80, while the Nasdaq Canada index progressed 13.05 points to 801.10.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, equities pared gains Wednesday as falling oil prices overshadowed an upbeat report on wholesale inventories.
The Dow Jones industrial average nosed ahead 2.95 points to 10,567.26. The S&P 500 index moved up 5.16 points to 1,145.60, and the Nasdaq composite ran ahead 18.27 points to 2,358.95
Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the Nasdaq's all-time closing high of 5,048.62, marking the peak of the dot.com bubble.
Bank stocks advanced on upbeat analyst comments and bullish statements from some executives. Citibank rose 3% and Bank of America gained over 2%.
American International Group soared over 8% as investors cheered the insurance giant's recent asset sales. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also gained significant ground.
Shares of Facet Biotech surged 66% after Abbott Labs announced plans to acquire the company for $27 U.S. a share. Abbott gained about 0.7%.
Airline stocks rallied on growing expectations that 2010 is shaping into a profitable year for the industry. Shares of UAL, holding company for United Airlines, and Continental Airlines surged 5%.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Commerce Department said wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell 0.2% in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected a gain of 0.2%.
Separately, the Labor Department said fewer states reported increases in unemployment in January.
The Treasury Department said the government suffered a record $220.9-billion U.S. budget deficit in February, after a shortfall of $42.6 billion U.S. in January. It was the 17th consecutive monthly deficit and was larger than the $221-billion U.S. shortfall economists had forecast.
Treasury prices dipped, raising yields for the benchmark 10-year note to 3.71% from Tuesday's 3.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil regained 45 cents to $81.94 U.S.
Gold prices shed $14 at $1,108 U.S.