Mar. 16, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Canadian stocks are likely to move higher at open Tuesday as commodities prices ticked higher amid easing worries over the Greece situation.
The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 25.06 points to start the session at 12,033.86.
Encouraging Canadian manufacturing sales data and productivity levels may help lift sentiment. Moreover, bank stocks may continue to build on their last session's late rally.
European ministers worked out a strategy for emergency loans to Greece, in case the country's $6.6-billion U.S. tax hikes and wage cut plans fail.
Airlines stocks may be in play after German Air Berlin Plc said it will cut back its orders for Boeing aircraft by $1.7 billion U.S., to adapt to market conditions.
In the airlines space, commercial aircraft and rail equipments maker Bombardier Inc. 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 announced the resignation of its President and CEO Sean Durfy effective April 1.
In other corporate news, mineral explorer First Quantum Minerals 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.
Energy sector services provider Pulse Seismic reported fourth-quarter net income of $0.01 per share, compared to a loss of $0.03 per share in the prior-year period.
Oil and natural gas company Serica Energy Plc 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 slipped to loss 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.
Gold explorer Kinross Gold 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 reported improved fourth quarter earnings of $0.18 per share, compared to $0.10 per share in the same period a year ago.
Photovoltaic energy product maker Day4 Energy turned to profit in its fourth-quarter, reporting net income of $0.02 per share compared to a loss of $0.79 per share last year.
Life sciences company MDS Inc. slipped into the red in its 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 reported 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 reported fourth-quarter net income of $0.49 per share, down from $0.51per share in the same quarter a year earlier.
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 productivity to grow by 0.7% after dropping 0.2% in December.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.15 cents to 98.29 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The 14 TSX subgroups were evenly split at the opening bell Tuesday between gainers and losers. The former group was led in tandem by gold and materials stocks, each of which prospered 1.1%, while metals and mining stocks pulled ahead 1%.
The seven laggards were weighed by consumer discretionary and industrial stocks, each off 0.4%, while consumer staples slid 0.3%.
The TSX Venture Exchange reacquired 10.12 points to 1,571.53, while the Nasdaq Canada index eked ahead 1.98 points to 810.61.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks opened modestly higher Tuesday as commodity prices rose ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average was 4.91 points in the green to 10,647.06. The S&P 500 index moved higher by 2.06 points to 1,152.27, and the Nasdaq composite gained 2.72 points to 2,364.93.
Wall Street finished Monday's session little changed in the aftermath of an advance that has seen stocks finish higher in four of the last five weeks. The S&P 500 edged higher Monday to close at a fresh 18-month high.
Investors are in a holding pattern ahead of the central bank's policy statement, due out at 2:15 p.m. ET. The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged.
Investors will be scrutinizing the policy statement for hints about how the Fed plans to unwind the stimulus measures it put in place in the wake of the financial crisis.
On the economic front, new home construction fell in the U.S. 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.
Sony and the estate of Michael Jackson have signed a landmark music deal for 10 albums over seven years, according to published reports. The deal is said to be worth as much as $250 million U.S.
The price of the 10-year note fell, pushing up the yield to 3.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil picked up 93 cents to $80.73 U.S.
Gold prices raced ahead $17 to $1,123 U.S.
