The Toronto stock market advanced Wednesday morning amid rising commodity stocks and earnings from the tech and media sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 27.7 points to 11,946.4 after falling 45 points on Tuesday. The TSX has been lower all week following a sharp three per cent gain last week as investors responded to higher commodity prices and a slew of positive bank earnings. The Canadian dollar was down a slight 0.05 of a cent to 97.38 cents US. The dollar has recently hovered around its highest level since mid-January. The weaker showing came amid a report from CIBC World Markets that said expectations of higher interest rates and investor demand for Canada will help drive the currency past parity with the U.S. greenback by this summer. The base metals sector led advancers, up one per cent as May copper was off a penny to US$3.40 a pound. Sherritt International (TSX:S) gained 11 cents to $8.78. Gold stocks were also higher as the bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 50 cents to US$1,122.80 an ounce. Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) moved up 11 cents to $19.15. The telecom sector also provided lift as Rogers Communications gained 39 cents to $34.79. Media company Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B) said it had a $73.8-million profit in the fourth quarter. The company had a $343.6-million loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 as it wrote down the value of goodwill and other intangible assets. Revenue from all segments grew $25.6 million to just under $1.03 billion. Quebecor shares rose $1.14 to $33.36. Oil prices declined as traders took in an inventory report providing mixed evidence about U.S. crude demand. Benchmark crude for April delivery was 22 cents lower to US$81.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and the energy sector was up 0.14 per cent. The American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. crude inventories jumped last week by 6.5 million barrels. Analysts had expected that a cold weather spell in much of the U.S. this month would have resulted in a drop of 1.6 million barrels. However, inventories of gasoline and distillates fell more than expected. In other earnings news, logistical services company Descartes Systems Group (TSX:DSG, NASDAQ:DSGX) reported net income of US$10.3 million or 17 cents per share for the quarter ended Jan. 31. The profit was down from a year earlier when the company, which reports in U.S. dollars, booked earnings of $15.4 million or 29 cents per share. Quarterly revenue surged 20 per cent to $18.9 million, led by a jump in services revenues. Its shares were unchanged at $6.35. The TSX Venture Exchange rose 6.39 points to 1,565.15. New York markets were slightly higher as investors look for direction after two days of relatively flat trading. New York’s Dow Jones industrials climbed 15.7 points to 10,580.1 after rising 12 points. The Nasdaq composite index gained 8.18 points to 2,348.86, while the S&P 500 index was up 3.4 points to 1,143.85. A market surge that began a year ago appears to have run out of steam recently. Traders are no longer looking for just anecdotal evidence that a recession is easing like they were last year. Now they want to see signs of sustained economic growth. With little economic data released since last week’s better-than-expected jobs report, investors haven’t made any big moves. Meanwhile, Portugal has raised euro990 million (US$1.34 billion) Wednesday in a key bond auction that had more bids than bonds available, suggesting the government’s austerity plan is easing market concerns about the country’s ability to pay off its high debts. The auction came two days after the government unveiled the broad outline of a four-year plan designed to allay fears it could face similar problems to Greece. A budget crisis in Athens has triggered violent demonstrations, unsettled the European Union and undermined the 16-country euro currency, of which Portugal is a member. In other corporate news, QLT Inc. said the sale of a U.S. subsidiary more than offset losses at its continuing operations in the fourth quarter, resulting in a US$80.6-million profit despite declining revenue from its Visudyne treatment for age-related blindness. Its shares were off five cents to $5.07. Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund (TSX:BRE.UN) reported that its net income increased to $1.5 million in the fourth quarter, about seven times higher than it was a year earlier, as the royalties it received from brokerages rose nearly 10 per cent. Brookfield units ticked four cents higher to $12.54. Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs wants an appeals court to kill the sale of Canwest Global Communications’ television assets to cable operator Shaw Communications (TSX:SJR.B). Goldman helped Canwest (TSXV:CGS) finance the acquisition of a variety of specialty channels including Showcase and History Television as part of a takeover of Alliance Atlantis for $2.3 billion in 2007. Goldman called the TV sale process corrupt, and asked the Ontario Court of Appeal to reconsider other purchase proposals, including one backed by Goldman, that were “wrongly” rejected by the bankruptcy court. Shaw shares dipped three cents to $20.43. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell less than 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended flat. Chinese trade figures for February showed exports up 45.7 per cent on the year and imports surging 44.7 per cent, a reflection of growing demand in China as it emerges from the global crisis. London’s FTSE 100 index added 0.1 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 0.24 per cent while the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.25 per cent.

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