Health-care strongest subgroup
Apr. 26, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Bay Street stocks opened higher Monday amid widespread buying, with base metals, energy and gold stocks turning in strong performances. The S&P/TSX Composite Index tacked on 22.97 points by mid-morning to 12,262.61. Encouraging earnings reports from Whirlpool and Caterpillar may also help lift sentiment. However, uncertainty over the Greek fund disbursement may weigh on the sentiment. Last Friday, Greece said it will opt for bailout loans to from the euro zone and the IMF. In corporate news, Research In Motion announced that it introduced the new Blackberry Pearl 3G Smartphone. It also said that it introduced the BlackBerry Bold 9650 smartphone, which is expected to be available from carriers in the U.S.beginning in May. The company also hosts its 2010 Capital market day today. Base metals stocks were under the buyers' radar, with Inmet Mining rising 1.43% and First Quantum Minerals gaining 1.28%. Among energy plays, Crescent Point Energy added 1.24% and Encana Corp.was up 0.77%. In the gold space, Barrick Gold moved up 0.62% and Goldcorp gathered 0.62%. Meanwhile, information technology stocks were marginally down, with Open Text slipping nearly 2%. Integrated wood products company West Fraser Timber posted first-quarter earnings after discontinued operations of $0.45 per share, compared with a loss of $1.94 per share in the prior year period. Analysts expected the company to record $0.27 per share in the quarter. West Fraser Timber gained 2.03% on the news. Harris N.A., a part of BMO Financial Group, said that it has acquired certain assets and liabilities of Amcore Bank N.A. from the FDIC, effective Friday. Investment dealer Canaccord Financial said it has completed its acquisition of Genuity Capital Markets, by issuing 26.5 million shares and $30 million of cash. Mineral explorer International PBX Ventures said it completed its second tranche private placement of 2.41 million units for total proceeds of $483,500. Property database service provider Zaio Corporation announces non-brokered private placement of 19,230,770 units at $0.13 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $2.5 million. In economic news, rating agency Standard & Poor's affirmed Canada's ratings on Friday. The agency affirmed the country's 'AAA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings with a stable outlook. "Canada has what we view as strong public finances, a relatively diversified economy, stable public policy, and a sound financial sector," the agency said in a statement. The Canadian dollar slid 0.14 cents to just below parity with the American dollar, at 99.94 cents. ON BAYSTREET Of the 14 TSX subgroups, all but three were higher to begin the week. Health-care stocks led the charge, up 1.1%, while global base metals gained 0.9% and metals and mining picked up 0.8%. The three laggards were information technology, giving back 1.2%, consumer staples, down 0.3%, and real-estate, off 0.1%. The TSX Venture Exchange accumulated 3.17 points to start the week at 1674.09, while the Nasdaq Canada index was off 10.89 points to 779.18. ON WALLSTREET In New York, Caterpillar's strong earnings lifted the Dow Monday, but the broader market meandered at the start of a big week filled with corporate results, economic reports and the Federal Reserve meeting The Dow Jones industrial average gained 35.37 points by mid-morning to 11,239.65. The S&P 500 index faded 0.13 points, to 1,217.15. The Nasdaq composite index trailed Friday's close by 0.76 points, at 2,529.39. Stocks rallied Friday, with the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all ending at fresh 2010 highs, after a surprisingly strong new-home sales report. There are no major economic reports due Monday, but the week ahead brings the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on interest rates, reports on jobless claims, consumer confidence and gross domestic product. But many headwinds remain. Among them are Greece's debt issues, Wall Street reform and questions about whether the SEC's decision to charge Goldman Sachs with fraud was just the tip of the iceberg. After a series of better-than-expected earnings reports, many investors are optimistic about this week's numbers. The week brings results from 164 companies in the S&P 500. Heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar reported higher quarterly earnings that beat estimates on weaker revenue that missed estimates. The company said that the economic outlook is improving, but that it is cutting its outlook for housing starts by 20% due to the weak labor market. The Dow component also boosted its 2010 profit forecast. Shares gained 4% in the morning. Roughly 83% of S&P 500 company earnings have topped estimates, with growth currently forecast to have risen 50% from a year earlier, according to the latest from Thomson Reuters. Revenue growth is expected to have risen 11% from a year ago. Hertz announced plans to buy Dollar Thrifty in a $1.2-billion U.S. cash-and-stock deal that combines two of the most prominent players in the car rental business. Toyota Motor said production soared more than 80% in March compared to year-ago levels, despite the recall of some 10 million vehicles in recent months. Treasury prices gained ground, dropping the yield on the 10-year note to 3.80% from Friday's 3.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil slipped 34 cents at $84.78 U.S. Gold prices nipped ahead two dollars to $1,155 U.S. an ounce.
