A Bay Street sign is seen in the financial district of Toronto on June 2, 2014.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail
Resource stocks gave the Toronto stock market a solid advance as a weaker U.S. dollar helped send prices for oil and metals higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 78.53 points to 15,229.85. Gains were limited by earnings misses from Canadian insurers Manulife Financial and Sun Life Financial along with a major corporate shakeup at transportation giant Bombardier Inc.
Bombardier shares tumbled 35 cents or 11.5 per cent to $2.69 after the Canadian corporate giant suspended its dividend and announced plans to raise up to $2.5-billion. Bombardier has faced a string of delays related to its new CSeries jetliner and cost estimates keep climbing.
General U.S. dollar weakness pushed the Canadian dollar ahead 0.95 of a cent to 80.06 cents (U.S.).
U.S. indexes were positive as investors focused on a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. The Dow Jones industrials gained 110.24 points to 17,972.38, the Nasdaq composite index finished up 56.43 points at 4,857.61 and the S&P 500 index advanced 19.96 points to 2,088.49.
Oil closed up $2.37 at $51.21 (U.S.) a barrel.
Insurance stocks also weighed on the TSX in the wake of earnings reports from Manulife Financial and Sun Life Financial.
Manulife's core earnings were 36 cents per diluted share, five cents below estimates. It also said that macroeconomic factors including low interest rates "produces headwinds in 2015."
"This low interest rate environment ensures they are going to struggle," Small said.
Sun Life's net income on an adjusted basis came in at $360-million (Canadian) or 59 cents per share, missing estimates of 78 cents per share.
Manulife fell 51 cents to $21.33 while Sun Life lost $2.73 to $39.23.
The TSX energy sector was ahead 1.33 per cent as March crude gained $2.37 to $51.21 (U.S.) a barrel.
Cenovus Energy expects to cut its workforce by about 15 per cent, with the bulk of the cuts coming from its contractors. Its shares dipped five cents to $24.63. Oil companies have scrambled to cut costs as prices have slid about 40 per cent since late November amid a huge supply/demand imbalance.
The base metals sector ran up 4.25 per cent as April copper gained six cents to $2.60 a pound.
The gold sector edged up 0.1 per cent as April bullion rose $1.10 to $1,220.70 an ounce.
The telco sector dipped 0.2 per cent even as Telus Corp. increased its fourth-quarter profit 7.6 per cent from a year ago to $312-million (Canadian), helped by growth in its wireless business. Adjusted earnings were 53 cents, in line with estimates, but its shares slipped a penny to $43.53.
The Greek debt crisis also vied for investor attention after the country's talks with euro zone creditors on overhauling its bailout loans broke down.
Still, markets were optimistic a deal will be reached in time for Greece to avoid a potential exit from the euro.