Canadian shares advanced on renewed hopes that debt-laden Greece will reach a deal with its creditors this weekend and stave off an exit from the eurozone.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.9 percent to 14,403.80 at 12:08 p.m. in Toronto. More than two shares advanced for every issue that declined as nine out of the 10 groups were in the positive territory.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appealed to his party's lawmakers today to back a tough reform package after abruptly offering last-minute concessions to try to save the country from financial meltdown. With creditor institutions due to deliver an initial verdict on Athens' loan request and reform proposals within hours, euro zone partners appeared to be preparing for a deal at the weekend to keep Greece in the euro zone.
In China, stocks, which had been plunging on panic selling, found some stable ground after support measures from Beijing
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, added 1.3 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, gained 1.3 percent to C$76.45. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, added 1.2 percent to C$52.44.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, edged up 0.4 percent as gold steadied above a four-month low. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, skidded 0.5 percent to C$21.08. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, advanced 0.6 percent to C$12.95.
Spot gold was unchanged at $1,159.65 an ounce. Prices touched $1,146.75 on Wednesday, their lowest level since March 18.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, slipped 0.3 percent as oil, Canada’s largest export, eased today.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, gained 0.6 percent to C$33.99. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, inched up 0.1 percent to C$57.47. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, gained 0.8 percent to C$33.07.
Crescent Point Energy (TSE:CPG) sank 3.1 percent to C$24.26, reversing an earlier gain. The light oil producer filed to offer up to C$2.5 billion of securities over the next two years in Canada and the U.S. Crescent said said proceeds would be used to pay off debt, for general purposes, as well as to fund possible acquisitions.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery recently traded down 0.2 percent at $52.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, traded flat at $58.61 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Loblaw Cos. (TSE:L), Canada's largest food retailer, rose 0.6 percent to C$63.61 after saying it has settled a labor dispute involving 69 company-owned stores. Union members voted in favor of a new, six-year contract, ending strikes at nine stores across Ontario and heading off strikes scheduled to begin July 11 at the other 60.
DHX Media (TSE:DHX.A) advanced 6.7 percent to C$9.33. The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based company called off its planned share offering, citing unfavorable market condition. The media content company had planned to sell 8.7 million shares.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) rose 0.7 percent to 640.86 at 12:16 p.m.
In economic news, Canada's economy shed a fewer-than-forecast 6,400 jobs last month, data from Statistics Canada showed today, prompting investors to pare back expectations that the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates next week. Economists had anticipated a loss of 10,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.8 percent, though the participation rate edged down to 65.8 percent.
In the U.S., shares rallied on market optimism that the recent turmoil over the Greek debt crisis and China's stock market dive has calmed down. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) added 1.2 percent to 2,075.07. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) advanced 1.1 percent to 17,745.71, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 1.4 percent to 4,989.00. Most followed shares included Gap, Tesla, Zillow, Coty, Walgreens, Costco, American Airlines, Alibaba, Barracuda, and Dover.