Feb. 18, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Bay Street stocks may yet pare some recent gains Thursday on easing commodity prices and on profit taking, even as traders digesting the just released inflation numbers.
For the time being, however, the S&P/TSX composite index gained 38.83 points to 11,674.32, in the first half-hour of trading.
While the price of oil eased on demand concerns, the bullion pared recent gains as IMF announce plans to sell gold. The main index moved higher for the past six sessions, its longest winning streak in 2010, gathering nearly 5% as investors brushed aside worries over the euro zone and on rising commodity prices.
In corporate news, gold producer Agnico-Eagle Mines reported fourth-quarter net income of $0.31 per share, compared to net income of $0.15 per share in the same quarter last year.
Gold company Kinross Gold turned to black in fourth quarter reporting net earnings of $0.34 per share, compared to net loss of $1.47 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Barrick Gold said it earned $0.21 per share in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $0.53 per share in the year-ago period.
In M&A news, insurance provider Fairfax Financial Holdings said it will acquire Zenith National Insurance Corp. for about $1.4 billion.
Energy company Nexen Inc. turned to profit in the fourth quarter, reporting net income of $0.49 per share versus a loss of $0.35 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Precious metals miner Dundee Precious Metals swing to profit reporting fourth quarter net earnings of $0.04 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.03 in the prior year quarter.
HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, reported net income of $0.30 per basic share for the fourth quarter, compared to $0.22 per basic share for the fourth quarter of 2008.
In brokerage updates, Morgan Stanley trimmed its rating on oil and gas industry services provider Trican Well Services to an "underweight" from an "overweight" rating. RBC ups Rogers Communications price target to $41 from $40.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said consumer prices rose 1.9% in the 12 months to January, following a 1.3% increase in December. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.4% from December. The inflation rate is just below the central bank's 2% target and is unlikely to trigger interest rate hikes before the second half of 2010.
In another report, the agency said non-residents acquired $11.2 billion of Canadian securities in December and Canadian investment in foreign securities, which was up in November after four months of divestments, slowed to $663 million in December.
The Canadian dollar surged one-third of a cent to 95.93 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine were positive in early morning trading. Gold moved 1.3% higher, followed by materials' 1.1% improvement and a 0.6% surge by metals and mining.
The five laggards were weighed by consumer discretionary stocks, down 0.4%, industrials, off 0.3%, and financials, sliding 0.2%.
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 2.77 points to 1,515.95, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 3.87 points to 754.39.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, blue-chips advanced Thursday morning on Hewlett-Packard's improved quarterly results and forecast, but the broader market was mixed after the release of worse-than-expected reports on jobless claims and inflation.
The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 36.73 points early on, to 10,345.97. The S&P 500 index gained 2.74 points to 1,102.25, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.78 points to 2,228.07.
The major gauges had been volatile in the first 30 minutes of the session, trading on both sides of unchanged in the aftermath of a two-day advance.
Stocks gained Wednesday thanks to a better-than-expected housing report, a mixed forecast from the Federal Reserve and some upbeat company news. The gains followed a big rally Tuesday.
But after the two-day advance, investors took a breather Thursday, with stocks in mixed territory.
Economically, the U.S. Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims surged to 473,000 in the week ended Feb. 13, an increase from the prior week's upwardly revised figure of 442,000.
That was much worse than expected. Initial jobless claims were forecast to have totaled 430,000, according to a consensus of economist opinion from Briefing.com.
The producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in January, which was much higher than expected. The PPI was forecast to increase 0.8%, according to Briefing.com consensus, compared to a gain of 0.4% in December.
The latest index of leading economic indicators was to be released at 10 a.m. ET. The Philly Fed, a regional manufacturing survey, also came out then.
Retail behemoth Wal-Mart released its quarterly financial results before the opening bell.
Wal-Mart beat profit expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $1.17 U.S. per share for the fourth quarter. The company was expected to report a 9% gain in earnings per share, or $1.12 U.S., according to a consensus of analyst forecasts from Thomson Reuters.
Same-store sales were down 1.6% for the fourth quarter and they were flat for the year, the company said. The company's stock dipped in pre-market trading.
Hewlett-Packard reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue that topped expectations, after the close Wednesday. The company also boosted its outlook for the full year.
AIG has decided to drop a plan to completely unwind its derivatives portfolio and instead may keep up to $500 billion U.S. of the controversial assets, according to published reports.
Treasury prices dipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.75%, from 3.74% Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil increased 62 cents to $77.95 U.S.
Gold prices gave back a dollar to $1,119 U.S.