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Mar. 16, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Bay Street stocks were in the green in mid-morning deals Tuesday as commodity prices rose on a weaker greenback, and on encouraging economic data released today.
By noon, the S&P/TSX composite index had advanced 69.58 points to 12,078.38.
Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales rose the most in January along with improving labor productivity. Moreover, easing worries over the Greece debt situation and better than expected housing starts data from across the border helped lift sentiment.
Among energy stocks, Baytex Energy rose 0.93% and Pacific Rubiales added 1.84%.
Oil and natural gas company Serica Energy Plc was up 2.73% after it turned to profit in fourth-quarter reporting net income of $0.11 per share, compared to a loss of $0.16 per share in the prior year quarter.
Natural gas explorer ProspEx Resources rallied 7.78% despite the company slipping into the red in the fourth quarter, reporting net loss of $0.02 per share, compared to net earnings of $0.01 per share in the prior year quarter.
Among financial stocks, CIBC and TD Bank rose to their respective 52-week highs.
Base metals and materials stocks were also in the limelight.
Mineral explorer First Quantum Minerals gathered 2.35% after it swung to profit in its fourth-quarter reporting net earnings of $2.67 per share, compared to a loss of $7.19 in the year ago quarter. Further, the company expects its 2010 production to increase to 385,000 tonnes of copper and 240,000 ounces of gold.
Quadra Mining moved up 2.64%.
Among gold issues, gold explorer Kinross Gold was up 2.45%. The company has entered into an agreement with Underworld Resources to offer 0.141 of a Kinross common share, plus $0.01 in cash for each common share of Underworld.
Intermediate gold producer Alamos Gold gained 3.78% after reporting improved fourth-quarter earnings of $0.18 per share, compared to $0.10 per share in the same period a year ago.
Lihir Gold rose 4.36%.
Photovoltaic energy product maker Day4 Energy rallied 9.76% after it turned to profit in the fourth quarter, reporting net income of $0.02 per share compared to a loss of $0.79 per share last year.
Meanwhile, life sciences company MDS Inc. eased 0.23% after the company slipped into the red in the first quarter, reporting loss $0.36 a share versus a profit of $0.03 a share in the previous year. Analysts were expecting the company to report a loss of $0.01.
Medical services provider Northstar Healthcare gave in 3.64% even after reporting a narrower net loss for the fourth quarter at $0.95 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.45 per share in the year-ago period.
Commercial forest plantation operator Sino-Forest was down 2.02%. The company reported fourth quarter net income of $0.49 per share, down from $0.51 per share in the same quarter a year earlier.
German Air Berlin Plc said it will cut back its orders for Boeing aircraft by $1.7 billion, to adapt to market conditions.
In the airlines space, commercial aircraft and rail equipments maker Bombardier Inc. edged down 0.34%. The company said it priced its offering of $1.5-billion new Senior Notes, which will be partly used to fund the repurchase of up to $1.0 billion of its currently outstanding notes.
Airlines operator WestJet Airlines slipped 2.45%. The company announced the resignation of its President and CEO Sean Durfy effective April 1.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales in the country rose for the fifth month by 2.4% to $44.6 billion in January, rising for the fifth straight month. Primary metal manufacturers led the gains, adding 8.5% from December.
In another report, labour productivity in Canadian businesses was up 1.4% in the fourth quarter, increasing for the first time since the third quarter of 2008. Economists were expecting the productivity to grow by 0.7% after dropping 0.2% in December.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.38 cents to 98.53 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine were higher by midday. Gold led the festivities, up 2%, materials were up 1.6%, while metals and mining stocks gained 1.3%.
Of the five laggards, information technology stocks slid 0.5%, telecoms lost 0.3%, and consumer staples turned negative by 0.2%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was ahead 8.93 points to 1,570.44, while the Nasdaq Canada index ducked behind 2.99 points to 805.64.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, equities rose Tuesday on strength in technology and energy shares ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average was 24.86 points in the green to 10,667.01. The S&P 500 index moved higher by 5.64 points to 1,156.15, and the Nasdaq composite gained 11.05 points to 2,373.26.
Technology stocks Intel and IBM led gainers on the Dow. But the index was held back by Caterpillar and Boeing which both fell about 0.3%.
Bank stocks also rallied, with Citigroup up nearly 3% and Bank of America rising 1.2%. Shares of energy producers also posted gains as oil prices jumped 2.6% to trade near $82 a barrel.
The advance comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest statement on interest rates, which is due out a 2:15 p.m. ET.
While the central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady at historic lows, some analysts think the Fed could alter the way it describes the outlook for the economy in its policy statement.
Sony and the estate of Michael Jackson have signed a landmark music deal for 10 albums over seven years. The deal is said to be worth as much as $250 million U.S.
Lehman Brothers Holdings submitted a proposal to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York to resolve the biggest Chapter 11 filing in Wall Street history.
The defunct brokerage, which collapsed in September 2008, would form subsidiary called LAMCO to oversee its remaining assets, which include commercial real estate, residential mortgages and derivatives, among other things.
On the economic front, new home construction fell 5.9% to an annual rate of 575,000 in February, according to a government report, from an upwardly revised 622,000 during the previous month.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected housing starts to have fallen to an annual rate of 570,000 during the month.
The report said building permits sipped 1.6% to an annual rate of 612,000 in February. They were expected to have fallen to an annual rate of 601,000 during the month.
A separate reading showed import prices slipped 0.3% in February, posting the first decline since July 2009. Excluding fuel, import prices gained 0.2%. Import prices in January were revised to climb 1.3%.
Export prices slipped 0.5% last month, following a revised 0.7% rise in January.
Treasury prices moved higher, pushing down the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil picked up $1.87 to $81.69 U.S.
Gold prices raced ahead $17 to $1,122 U.S.