The Canadian Press
The Toronto stock market regained some ground Thursday morning as the European Union assured investors it would conclude talks on a bailout for Greece by the weekend.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 75.56 points to 12,152.45 after losing 1.7 per cent of its value in the previous two sessions.
The EU said Thursday it expects to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund and Greek officials to lift Greece out of its “debt spiral” in the next few days.
Officials sought to assure the financial markets — rattled by fears of a disastrous default — that the rescue bid for Greece was well on track and that there is no talk of a restructuring in which creditors would lose money.
Credit downgrades of Greece, Portugal and Spain by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s have raised investor fears that the Greek debt crisis is beginning to infect other European countries.
In response, investors fled to safe-haven investments, like the U.S. dollar and gold, which in turn boosted the gold sector but sent almost every other sector, as well as the Canadian dollar, tumbling.
This trend seemed to change course Thursday, as the American greenback fell against other currencies. The Canadian dollar added 0.63 cent to 99.76 cents US.
The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $1.51 to US$84.73 a barrel, sending the Toronto energy sector up 0.95 per cent. Shares in Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) added 42 cents to C$33.99.
The June bullion contract lost $6.20 to US$1,165.60 an ounce while the gold sector added 0.24 per cent. Shares in Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) fell 44 cents to C$42.55 after the company reported a loss of US$52.7 million in its first quarter, weighed down by a $212.2-million charge related to foreign exchange.
Toronto’s base metals sector gained 0.45 per cent as the May copper contract on the Nymex fell 2.2 cents to US$3.35 a pound.
And the financial sector added 0.54 per cent after Republicans abandoned their blockade against legislation to clamp tough new controls on Wall Street, clearing a road to likely passage for the most sweeping rewrite of financial rules since the Great Depression.
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.10 points to 1,661.45.
New York markets rose as investors redirected their attention to signs of an improving economy, including an acquisition of smart phone maker Palm Inc. by Hewlett-Packard Co. and some more upbeat first-quarter earnings.
This offset higher-than-expected jobless claims for the week ended April 24, which totalled 448,000, slightly above the consensus estimate of 445,000 initial claims.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 69.75 points to 11,115.02. The S&P 500 added 9.76 points to 1,201.12, while the Nasdaq gained 16.19 points to 2,487.92.
Meanwhile, Canadian non-farm payroll employment increased by 0.1 per cent, or 8,300 jobs, in February. British Columbia saw the biggest gain, boosted by the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
In earnings, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (TSX:POT), exceeded expectations with first-quarter earnings of $449.2 million. The company said increased demand for its products during the quarter signals a longer-term rebound for the company, as farmers catch up on fertilizer applications they missed last year. Shares in Potash Corp. added $1.11 to $110.85.
Transportation giant Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) will reportedly be directed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to make mandatory changes to some models of its Q400 turboprop. The Wall Street Journal said the move is intended to prevent future stalls of the model in icy conditions. Bombardier stock gained nine cents to $5.27.
Oil-and-gas producer Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE) reported a slight improvement in profit to $525 million and a big increase in first-quarter sales at both its production and refining operations. Shares in Cenovus rose 60 cents to $29.19.
And theatre equipment maker Imax Corp. (TSX:IMX) said its quarterly profit hit a record US$26.6 million in the first three months of this year, helped by blockbuster 3-D hits “Avatar” and ``Alice in Wonderland.” Imax stock fell 33 cents to $20.15.
Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 per cent, Germany’s DAX index gained 0.6 per cent, and France’s CAC-40 added 1.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.8 per cent, while Japan’s market was closed for a holiday.
