The Toronto stock market moved higher Friday with lift coming from commodities as oil and copper prices rose after a better than expected reading on U.S. orders for big ticket manufactured goods. Also, gold prices moved further into record territory, passing the US$1,300 an ounce level as investors look for a safe haven. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 72.1 points to 12,173.8 while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 11.03 points to 1,699.06. The Canadian dollar moved up 0.88 of a cent to 97.59 cents US. The U.S. Commerce Department said that orders for durable goods dropped 1.3 per cent last month, reflecting a huge drop in aircraft demand. But when looking at orders without aircraft and autos, orders actually rose two per cent, better than the one per cent rise that was expected. It reflected strong gains in demand for primary metals such as steel, heavy machinery and computers. Investors looked past other data which showed that new home sales in August in the U.S. were the second slowest on record. The Commerce Department says last month’s new home sales were unchanged from a month earlier at a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 288,000. Sales were down by 29 per cent from the same month a year earlier. The base metals sector led advancers, up almost three per cent as December copper in New York was ahead three cents to US$3.62 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX: TCK.B) rose $1.11 to $40.21 and Quadra FNX Mining (TSX: QUX) climbed 59 cents to $14.35. Meanwhile, the gold sector was up 0.3 per cent the December bullion contact on the Nymex gained US$2.80 to US$1,299.10 an ounce after earlier hitting a record intra-day high of US$1,301.30. Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX: YRI) added six cents to $11.50. Oil prices moved above US$75 a barrel in the wake of the U.S. data. Prices also got a lift from an unexpected rise in German business confidence which also helped to shore up sentiment amid ongoing concerns about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery. The benchmark crude for November delivery was up 61 cents to $75.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the energy sector was ahead 0.43 per cent. On the TSX, Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX: CVE) rose 43 cents to $28.65. German business confidence in September rose to its highest level since June 2007, according to the Ifo Institute. The reading came on the back of the country’s impressive economic performance in the April-June quarter when Europe’s biggest economy grew by a solid rate of 2.2 per cent. The survey though suggested that growth will likely falter, partly because of a slowdown in the U.S. economic recovery. The financial sector also provided lift, ahead 0.8 per cent with Manulife Financial (TSX: MFC) ahead 24 cents to $13 and Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) up 73 cents to $59.57. New York markets surged following the durable goods data with the Dow Jones industrials up 159.9 points to 10,822.3. The Nasdaq composite index rose 37.17 points to 2,364.25 while the S&P 500 index gained 18.5 points to 1,143.35. In corporate news, Nike Inc. said its fiscal first-quarter revenue and profit jumped. Just as importantly, the athletic shoe and apparel maker said upcoming orders rose by their largest level in a decade. Its shares climbed $3.21 to US$80.88. Pure Energy Services Ltd. (TSX: PSV) has agreed to sell its drilling rig assets and operations to an unnamed private investment group for $34 million in the latest move by the company to focus on its core business. Its shares were unchanged at $3.10. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.3 per cent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7 per cent. European bourses also advanced in the wake of the American economic data with London’s FTSE 100 index up 0.85 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX added 1.35 per cent while the Paris CAC 40 was up 1.77 per cent.

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