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The TMX Broadcast Centre in TorontoFrank Gunn/The Canadian Press

North American stocks shook off a slow start on Thursday, with a strong report on U.S. building permits sending major indexes higher by midday trading.

Shortly after noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 64 points or 0.5 per cent, to 13,229. The broader S&P 500 was up 8 points or 0.6 per cent, to 1414. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 113 points or 1 per cent, to 12,018.

The Commerce Department reported that building permits rose 6.8 per cent last month, suggesting that building activity could be on the rise. The report overshadowed a setback in building starts, which fell 1.1 per cent.

Earlier, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 for the period ended last week, to 366,000 – a number that was in line with expectations.

Technology stocks took the lead within the S&P 500, rising 1.4 per cent. Part of the gain came from Cisco Systems Inc.'s 8.4 per cent rally after its quarterly sales topped analysts' expectations.

U.S. materials rose 1.1 per cent, while industrials and energy stocks rose 0.7 per cent each.

Facebook Inc. fell 5.7 per cent, with some of the company's corporate insiders now free to sell their holdings of the stock.

Within Canada's benchmark index, commodity producers were the clear favourites. Materials rose 2.6 per cent after the price of gold rose to $1,615 (U.S.) an ounce, up $12. Barrick Gold Corp.'s announcement that it was in talks to sell its African assets to China National Gold Group Corp. also helped the sector.

Canadian energy stocks rose 0.9 per cent, while financials rose 0.6 per cent. Crude oil rose to $95.24 a barrel, up 91 cents.

In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended the day relatively unchanged but Germany's DAX index rose 0.7 per cent.

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