A TSX tote board is pictured in Toronto, on Dec. 31, 2012.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Rising resource and financial stocks pushed the Toronto stock market higher Friday despite soft U.S. economic data.
The S&P/TSX composite index up 87.58 points to 15,328.74. The Canadian dollar gained 0.33 of a U.S. cent to 80.16 cents.
New York indexes were mixed following a report that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent in the October to December quarter, weaker than the 2.6 per cent first estimated last month in a reflection of weaker business stockpiling and a bigger trade deficit.
A bigger surprise was a glum reading on the manufacturing sector in the U.S. Midwest, which fell to a 5 1/2-year low in February. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index fell to 45.8 from 59.4 in December, a reading indicating contraction.
"That number is a bit of a shocker, because that PMI number has remained consistently above 50 for many, many years," observed Himalaya Jain, portfolio manager, portfolio advisory group at Scotia McLeod.
"So, there is something very unusual [and] I would say that number would be treated with a very, very high degree of skepticism."
Also, the University of Michigan's widely watched consumer sentiment index slipped to 95.4 from 98.1 in January.
The Dow Jones industrials gave back 22.08 points to 18,192.34, the Nasdaq was 6.12 points lower to 4,981.77 and the S&P 500 index added 0.79 of a point to 2,111.53.
The TSX base metals sector led advancers, up 2.1 per cent while May copper was down two cents to US$2.67 a pound.
April gold rose $6.70 to US$1,216.80 an ounce and the gold sector gained 1.8 per cent.
The energy sector climbed 0.45 per cent. Oil prices advanced after plunging almost $3 a barrel on Thursday to the lowest level in a month as data continues to show large buildups of crude inventories in the United States. On Friday, the April crude contract in New York was up $1.05 to US$49.22 a barrel.
Crude prices have moved lower this week as inventories remain at their highest levels in 80 years. Also depressing oil and other commodity prices lately is a steadily strengthening U.S. currency.
Tech stocks led decliners.
The TSX could be in for a modest gain this week amid a run of generally well-received earnings reports from most of the big Canadian banks.
However, the Toronto market has enjoyed a positive month, led by gains in base metal miners, tech companies and consumer discretionary stocks.
In corporate news, Aimia Inc., the company that operates customer loyalty programs for Air Canada, TD Bank and CIBC credit cards, and other business partners. The company posted adjusted earnings of $60 million or 20 cents a share, four cents short of forecasts. Its stock dropped $1.63 or 11.35 per cent to $12.72. as revenue of $761.1 million beat estimates.
And Bombardier Inc.'s CS300 passenger jet made its long-awaited maiden flight this morning. Prior to liftoff, Bombardier announced that, that it will get about $1.1-billion from a previously announced equity financing to help pay for the sharply higher costs of the CSeries program. Also, the Wall Street Journal says Bombardier plans to issue 3 1/2-year and 10-year debt but pricing has yet to be set. Bombardier shares lost seven cents to $13.40.
In the U.S., J.C. Penney tumbled 5.9 per cent. The department-store chain attempting a turnaround gave a disappointing annual forecast and posted a loss in the holiday quarter.
Gap gained 3.4 per cent. The biggest U.S. apparel-focused retailer posted fourth-quarter profit that was higher than analysts estimated as the company's discount brand Old Navy boosted sales.
Monster Beverage surged 14 per cent to the highest ever after reporting fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that beat analysts' estimates. The maker of energy drinks amended a pact with bottlers to make Coca-Cola its preferred partner globally.
The earnings season is drawing to a close, with 96 per cent of companies having already reported. Of those, 74 percent beat profit projections and 57 per cent topped sales estimates.
In the current quarter, analysts predict profit at S&P 500 companies will drop 4.5 per cent after a 4.3 per cent increase in the final three months of 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Bank of America lost 1.8 per cent. The bank was downgraded to neutral from buy by UBS analyst Brennan Hawken, after the lender disclosed that U.S. banking regulators demanded changes to capital models ahead of annual industry stress tests. The firm's changes raise the risk the bank could fail the Federal Reserve's Comprehensive Capital Analysis Review, Hawken wrote.
With files from Bloomberg News