Canadian shares advanced for a second day, fuelled by optimism grew over Greece debt negotiations. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.7 percent to 14,889.71 at 12:42 p.m. in Toronto. More than three shares advanced for every issue that declined as nine out of ten share groups were in the positive territory.
European leaders said at an emergency summit yesterday in Brussels that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is finally getting serious after being criticized for lacking good faith in earlier talks. At the meeting they agreed to step up the pace of negotiations to secure a deal by the end of the week.
BlackBerry (TSE:BB) fell 4.1 percent to C$10.87 after the embattled Canadian smartphone maker reported disappointing results in its fiscal first quarter.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, jumped 1.4 percent as oil, Canada’s largest export, rallied by more than 1 percent.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, added 1.5 percent to C$34.52. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, skidded 0.2 percent to C$75.11.
Brent crude futures were up 1.6 percent at $64.34 a barrel by 11:57 a.m. U.S. crude futures rose 1.2 percent to $61.08.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, rose 0.6 percent even as gold eased. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, added 2.9 percent to C$20.57. TD increased Goldcorp’s rating to action list buy from buy, citing to a healthy balance sheet and an 82 percent return on TD’s target price. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, fell 0.3 percent to C$13.73.
Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,178.10 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $6.30 at $1,177.80.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, rose 0.8 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, rose 0.8 percent to C$77.99. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, gained 0.9 percent to C$54.10.
Keg Royalties Income Fund (TSE:KEG.UN) rose 2.3 percent to $19.75 after increasing its monthly dividend by 3.1 percent to C$8.45. This is the second increase this year by the restaurant royalties and trademark company, which upped its monthly dividend by 2.5 percent in March.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (TSE:VRX), the acquisitive Canadian pharmaceutical company, inched up 0.6 percent to C$288.65, after it submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Relistor, a tablet to treat opioid-induced constipation in adult patients who have chronic non-cancer pain.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) was flat at 682.41 at 12:28 p.m. in Toronto.
In the U.S. market, shares fluctuated between gains and losses as optimism about a possible solution to Greece’s debt problems gave way to caution. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) was flat at 21,123.12 at 11:50 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 0.1 percent to 18,133.83, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dropped 0.1 percent to 5,151.50. Most followed shares included BlackBerry, AT&T, Darden Restaurants, Molson Coors, Sonic, Fitbit, Momo, IHS, Green Dot, and Vical.