Markets opened higher Tuesday on positive earnings and better-than-expected housing data from the U.S.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 58.88 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 11,804.96.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil gained 15 cents US to $79.13 US a barrel and gold fell $9.60 to $1,173.50 US an ounce.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 97.13 cents US, up 27 basis points.
“Equity and commodity markets have continued to build on (Monday’s) rally overnight, boosted by another round of very strong earnings reports,” Colin Cieszynski, market analyst at CMC Markets said in a note. “Particularly strong results were seen out of the industrials and materials sectors with DuPont, Fluor and Cummins leading the charge, while computer peripheral producer Lexmark provided additional confirmation of strong consumer spending trends on discretionary items.”
In Canada, oil and gas company Talisman Energy Inc. said Tuesday second-quarter profits surge to $603 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with $63 million, or six cents a share, a year earlier. Shares were at $17.36, up 27 cents.
Telecommunications giant Rogers Communications Inc. also reported second-quarter profit was up 21 per cent, to $464-million, or 80 cents a share, beating analysts’ expectations. Shares were up 50 cents to $37.90.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average rose 41.63 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 10,567.06, while the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.22 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,305.65.
In housing, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 4.6 per cent from May 2009, topping estimates for a 3.9 per cent increase by Bloomberg analysts after a 3.8 per cent year-over-year increase in April.
“Positive housing data out of the U.S., combined with great earnings . . . will propel the market higher in the early going. But if the U.S. Richmond Manufacturing index at 10 a.m. ET is not positive, the rally will fade,” said Greg Newman, senior wealth adviser at The Newman Group for ScotiaMcLeod.
DuPont, the third-biggest U.S. chemical maker, gained 4.7 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange after releasing results that topped analyst estimates.
In Europe, Swiss bank UBS and Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG said second-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates, sending markets higher. London’s FTSE gained 52.05 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 5,403.17 at midday. In Frankfurt, Germany’s DAX rose 55.84 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 6,250.05, and the Paris CAC added 46.31 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 3,682.49.
The Nikkei closed down 6.81 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 9,496.85, as Japan’s government released new budget guidelines for fiscal 2011 including a proposal for a 10 per cent cut in ministry budgets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 133.48 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 20,973.39.
On Monday, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up 31.87 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 11,746.07. The Dow was up 100.81 basis points, or 0.97 per cent, to 10,525.43. The Nasdaq was ahead 26.96 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 2,296.43.
