TORONTO - The Toronto stock market posted a solid advance mid-morning Monday amid much better than expected Canadian retail news, American housing data and higher commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 146 points to 11,725.4 after rising gold and base metal stocks helped push the main index up 1.5 per cent last week.
Statistics Canada reported that overall retail sales rose one per cent in September, which was much better than the 0.6 per cent rise that economists had forecast.
Excluding the auto sector, sales ran ahead a solid 1.1 per cent - the largest gain since January 2009 - against the 0.4 per cent gain that was forecast. Also, August retail sales were revised to show a gain of one per cent instead of the original 0.5 per cent increase.
And in the U.S., home resales far exceeded expectations last month, surging 10.1 per cent to 6.1 million units, the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.
Sales, which were nearly 24 per cent above last year's level, had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.65 million.
However, home prices continue to fall. The median sales price was US$173,100 down 7.1 per cent from a year earlier, and off 1.6 per cent from September.
Greenback weakness helped send the Canadian dollar up 1.25 cents to 94.72 cents US.
The energy sector was ahead 1.9 per cent as the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up $2.25 to US$79.72 a barrel. EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA) climbed 59 cents to C$56.99 while Suncor Inc. (TSX:SU) ran ahead $1.02 to $39.09.
Shares in Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) were up 40 cents to $28.55 after the company announced the discovery of additional oil resources in the White Rose area offshore Eastern Canada. Husky also acquired land adjacent to existing holdings in the North Amethyst area, about 315 kilometres east of St John's, N.L.
The gold sector jumped 2.58 per cent as bullion moved further into record high territory. The December bullion contract on the Nymex surged $24.40 to US$1,171.20 an ounce. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) advanced $1.28 to $47.96 and Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) advanced $1.25 to ...[next page]
