The Toronto stock market was higher Friday amid further indications that China continues to recover from a recent economic slump and an analyst upgrade for BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 53.21 points to greet noon at 12,727.94
The Canadian dollar dived 0.82 cents to 100.64 cents U.S.
Research In Motion Ltd. shares were up 6.9% to $15.69 after Jefferies & Co. upgraded the stock to buy from hold and raised its price target to $19.50 from $13 U.S. The move came on expectations RIM will open its corporate BlackBerry email services to iPhone and Android devices.
RIM stock has already surged more than 25% over the past week on rising optimism ahead of the unveiling of its new BB10 product on Jan. 30.
But the March contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost early momentum and at late morning was unchanged at $3.66 U.S. a pound and the base metals component on the TSX advanced. First Quantum Minerals gained 23 cents to $21.27 and Turquoise Hill Resources was 17 cents higher to $8.61.
The gold sector rose with Goldcorp Inc. adding 34 cents to $37.10 while Iamgold improved by 17 cents to $10.90.
The financials sector advanced 0.55 per cent as CIBC climbed 64 cents to $82.95 while Manulife Financial ran up 11 cents to $14.23.
The energy sector was ahead while the February crude contract on the Nymex declined 49 cents to US$95 a barrel. Canadian Natural Resources climbed 38 cents to $29.71.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that manufacturing sales hiked 1.7% in November to $49.9 billion, a peak that figure hasn’t seen since last May. Sales rose in 12 of 21 industries, representing about two-thirds of the manufacturing sector in this country.
What’s more, StatsCan reported that the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in November edged down 4,500, or 0.8%, to 528,000, after little change in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nosed ahead 0.74 points to 1,233.89
All 14 Toronto subgroups were on the upside at noon ET Friday, led by information technology, up 2%, while gold stocks gained 0.8% and the metals and mining group advanced 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks dipped into the red Friday as investors digested a mixed bag of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 20.42 points to break for midday at 13,575.60
The S&P 500 lopped off 3.93 points to 1,477.01. The Nasdaq Composite stepped back 15.22 points to 3,120.78.
A 6.6% drop in shares of Intel dragged on all three indexes a day after the chip maker reported that quarterly profits fell 27% from a year earlier.
Capital One was the biggest loser on the S&P 500 as shares fell more than 8% as the credit card lender and bank reported earnings that fell short of forecasts.
On the flip side, General Electric rose 3% after the conglomerate issued an upbeat outlook and reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. GE was the biggest gainer on the Dow.
Morgan Stanley was also a big winner, with shares rising 7% after the bank reported earnings that narrowly beat expectations.
It's been a mixed bag for earnings this week. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs issued strong reports, while investors were disappointed by Citigroup and Bank of America
Overall, S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings growth of 3.8% for the last three months of 2012, according to S&P's Capital IQ.
Investors also monitored the ongoing troubles at Boeing, which has been in focus this week due to problems with its new 787 Dreamliners that have prompted authorities around the world to ground the planes.
Meanwhile, traders took in data showing deterioration in consumer sentiment since last month. The University of Michigan’s consumer survey index slipped to 71.3 in January from 72.9 in December.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 1.84% from Thursday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices subtracted 45 cents to $95.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $2.80 to $1,688 U.S. an ounce.
