(RTTNews) - Bay Street stocks may hold on to recent gains Friday morning amid firm commodities prices and on increasing hopes for a quicker resolution for the Greece debt crisis. Just released GDP data from the US and Canada confirmed that economies on both sides of the border continue to rebound, albeit at a slower pace than previous readings. However, profit taking at higher levels may cap gains, as the main index was near its 18-month high U.S. stock futures point to a slightly higher opening. On Thursday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 123.43 points or 1.02% to 12,200.32. The price of oil moved higher for a third session, adding $0.44 to $85.61 a barrel and the price of gold was hovering near its 4-month, gaining $7.2 to $1,176.0 an ounce. In corporate news, gold producer Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) reported lower first quarter net income of $0.14 per share, compared to $0.35 per share in the same quarter last year. Analysts were expecting the company to post net income of $0.29 per share in the quarter. The company attributed the reduction in income to a non-cash foreign currency translation loss of $0.06 per share, and a non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $0.11 per share in the quarter. Mining company Boliden AB (BOL.TO) said it has acquired Kemira’s sulphuric acid plant and business in Kokkola, Finland, effective as of 1st May 2010. Property and casualty insurance company Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) swung to profit in first-quarter, reporting net income of $14.02 per share, compared to a loss of $3.55 per share in the same quarter last year. Enterprise content management solutions provider Open Text (OTC.TO) reported lower third-quarter net income of $0.23 per share, compared to $0.41 per share in the year ago period. Analysts were expecting the company to record $0.74 per share for the quarter. Paper manufacturer Domtar Corp. (UFS.TO) swung to profit in first quarter, reporting net earnings of $1.34 per share, compared to a net loss of $1.05 per share last year. Logistic business solutions provider Canadian Utilities (CU.TO) reported first-quarter earnings of C$1.18 per share compared to C$1.16 per share for the quarter in 2009. Distribution utility company Fortis Inc. (FTS.TO) said its first-quarter net earnings increased to C$0.56 per common share from C$0.52 per common share in the prior year quarter. In addition, the company said that the corporation’s significant capital program, which is expected to be about C$1.1 billion in 2010 and approach C$5 billion over the 5-year period from 2010 through 2014, should drive growth in earnings and dividends. Media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment (CJR_B.TO) said it would sell the Corus Quebec radio stations to COGECO Inc. (CGO.TO), a telecommunication services providing company, in a transaction valued around C$80 million. In economic news, Statistics Canada said the country’s real gross domestic product increased 0.3% in February, largely helped by growth in manufacturing and mining. The manufacturing sector grew 1.2% and the mining sector increased 0.4% in February. In other report, the agency said the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) declined 0.4% and the Raw Materials Price Index rose 0.8% in March The IPPI declined in March after advancing in the past four months. The agency noted that the 3.3% gain in the value of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar had impacted the IPPI. From the U.S., the Commerce Department said today gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 3.2% in the first quarter compared to the 5.6% growth seen in the fourth quarter. The increase came roughly in line with the estimates of economists, who had expected 3.3% growth. For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

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