TORONTO - The Toronto stock market registered sharp gains Thursday as the latest dose of stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed on the greenback and sent commodity prices higher — and raised hopes that this latest round of assistance can boost a faltering recovery. The S&P/TSX composite index surged 185.4 points to 12,856.5, weighed down slightly by shares in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT) after the federal government on Wednesday rejected BHP Billiton’s US$39-billion bid for the fertilizer company. BHP had to demonstrate the deal represented a likely net benefit to Canada. Industry Minister Tony Clement gave BHP another month to change its bid before a final ruling on the transaction. PotashCorp shares were down $5.10 or about 3.5 per cent to $141.11. U.S. dollar weakness pushed the Canadian dollar close to parity, up 0.42 of a cent to 99.74 cents US. The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 26 points to 1,974.64. Investors also took in earnings news from a variety of Canadian corporate heavyweights. The Fed announced Wednesday that it will buy US$600 billion in government bonds over the coming eight months in a fresh attempt to energize a faltering U.S. economy. The measure is known as quantitative easing, which is aimed at creating more dollars and increasing the supply of money in the economy. The latest round of QE involves the Fed buying US$75 billion in Treasury bonds per month until June next year. The Fed hopes that the policy will help drive down interest rates for households and businesses, giving the wider economy its source of stimulus. The U.S. dollar has deteriorated sharply since the Fed first raised the possibility of more stimulus in late August, which has raised commodity prices. Since commodities like oil and gold are priced in U.S. dollars, a weaker greenback makes them more attractive to buyers who use foreign currencies. The energy sector led advancers, up 2.12 per cent as the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was ahead $1.76 to US$86.45 a barrel. Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) earned just over $1 billion in the third quarter as the oil giant booked asset disposal gains and oilsands operations in northern Alberta generated one of the best performances in the company’s history. Canada’s largest oil and gas company said Thursday it earned 65 cents per common share in the quarter, well above analyst estimates and its shares advanced $1.35 to $34.25. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) shares gained 75 cents to $38.49 as the company reported net earnings of $580 million in the third quarter, down from $658 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The Calgary-based oil, gas and oilsands operator said Thursday its earnings per share stood at 53 cents in the quarter, down from 61 cents a year but ahead of analyst expectations for the company. Metal prices also advanced with the December copper contract ahead 12 cents to US$3.90 a pound, taking the base metals sector ahead 2.7 per cent. Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) climbed $1 to $46.96 while Lundin Mining Corp. (TSX:LUN) rose 28 cents to $6.63. Gold stocks were also stronger as the December bullion contract on the Nymex headed up $40.30 to US$1,377.90 an ounce. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) improved by $1.01 to $45.90 while Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) ran up 98 cents to $49.66. The financial sector gained one per cent with Royal Bank (TSX:RY) up 51 cents to $54.87. Shares in Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC) rose 63 cents or almost five per cent to $13.53 even as the company reported a $947 million loss for the third quarter amid some sizeable writedowns. That compared with a loss of $172 million a year ago. New York indexes powered ahead despite data which showed that more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, after two straight weeks of declines. New jobless benefit claims had fallen in four of the previous five weeks, raising hopes the job market was improving. But last week’s increase to 457,000 returns claims to the level they have remained at all year. The news came out a day before the release of October employment statistics for the U.S. and Canada. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 122.7 points to 11,337.8. The Nasdaq composite index gained 36.3 points to 2,576.57 while the S&P 500 index was ahead 14.25 points to 1,212.2. In other earnings news, telecom giant BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) said its profits were down 5.4 per cent in the third quarter from a year ago to $528 million. Earnings per share was 70 cents, missing analyst expectations of 75 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. However, its shares climbed 43 cents to $34.19. Air Canada (TSX:AC.A) said net income was $261 million in the third quarter, down from $277 million last year. But operating profits at the country’s dominant air carrier soared 381 per cent to $327 million and its shares ran up 25 cents to $4.09. Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX:SLF) said after the close Wednesday that it rebounded to a quarterly profit of $453 million, compared to a loss of $140 million a year ago, thanks largely to an improvement in stock markets. Its shares added seven cents to $28.86. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index jumped 2.2 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.6 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.9 per cent. European bourses ran up sharply as the European Central Bank left its main interest rate unchanged at a record-low one per cent on Thursday following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s launch of a new bond-buying program aimed at reinvigorating the economy. Also on Thursday, the Bank of England held its interest rates steady at a record low of 0.5 per cent for the 20th consecutive month as the British economy shows signs of unexpected strength. The bank also kept its 200 billion pound (US$323 billion) asset-purchase program on hold announcement, declining to follow the Fed in injecting more stimulus into the economy. London's FTSE 100 index gained 1.9 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX gained 1.69 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 1.81 per cent.

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