(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Canadian shares advanced as and along with Magna and led gains offsetting losses among energy producers in the wake of an election in Alberta.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.5 percent to 15098 at 12:45 p.m. in Toronto. Eight out of ten share groups were in the positive territory.
The telecommunications group the sixth heaviest on the stock was the largest advancer with a 2 percent gain. Services () a phone company based in Winnipeg jumped 4.7 percent to C$26.85 after implementing a 25 percent reduction in the workforce at its Allstream unit.
The consumer discretionary group the fifth heaviest on the index jumped 1.9 percent. () advanced 4.1 percent to C$66.22 as North America’s largest auto-parts supplier posted a first-quarter profit of $1.12 a share up from 88 cents a year earlier and ahead of the $1.10 a share analysts were expecting.
() advanced 12.7 percent to $82.23 after reporting better-than-forecast earnings.
The materials sub-index which includes mining shares rose 0.6 percent even as gold extended losses. (TSE:G) Canada’s largest gold miner by market value sank 1.2 percent to C$21.54. (TSE:ABX) the second-largest surrendered 0.7 percent to C$15.10.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery dropped $4.30 to$1186.00 an ounce. Gold fell as a steadier dollar and higher bond yields dented its investment appeal while uncertainty over the timing of a U.S. rate rise also weighed.
Financials the index's most heavily weighted sector edged up 0.1 percent. () which has the heaviest weighting in the index inched down 0.1 percent to C$79.01. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD) the second-largest bank by market value tacked on 0.1 percent to C$55.28.
() added 1.3 percent t oC$22.80 as the nation’s largest insurer reported a 10 percent dividend hike.
The energy sector the main index's second most heavily weighted group lost 0.7 percent as oil Canada’s largest export fell 2 percent.
Energy (TSE:SU) Canada's largest oil sands producer slipped 0.6 percent to C$36.80. Limited () Canada’s second-largest energy producer added 0.2 percent to C$38.54.
() fell 1 percent to $30.43 after swinging to a first-quarter loss of C$0.10 per share from a profit of C$0.08. Adjusted to exclude items it earned C$0.06 well below the C$0.52 Canadian cents it earned a year earlier. Cash flow fell 25 percent.
Brent futures were down $1.56 at $66.21 a barrel by 11:10 a.m. losing all they gained on Tuesday and yesterday. U.S. crude futures fell $1.40 to $59.53 a barrel.
() gained 4 percent to C$2.47 after saying it is preparing to spin off a minority stake in its transportation unit in an initial public offering and reported a 13 percent drop in first-quarter earnings.
Group () Canada's largest engineering company rose 3.3 percent to C$44.40 after reporting stronger earnings and a 31 percent jump in revenue in the first quarter.
The junior () slid less than 0.1 percent to 686.81 at 12:30 p.m.
In economic news Canadian building permits rose in March on gains in multiple-unit housing in Vancouver and Toronto and a rebound for institutional buildings in Alberta.
In the U.S. market shares shurgged off earlier jitters and turned higher Thursday rebounding after two sessions of selling. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.4 percent to 2087 at 11:48 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 0.4 percent to 17914 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) added 0.5 percent to 4942. Most followed shares included Alibaba Tesla Lumber Liquidators Whole Foods Market Priceline Time Keurig Green Mountain and MetLife.
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