Canadian shares advanced for a sixth day as commodities producers rallied after exports unexpectedly surged the most in almost a decade.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.3 percent to 14,534.22 at 12:33 p.m. in Toronto. Six shares advanced for every five issues that declined as eight out of the ten share groups were in the positive territory.
Canada's long-suffering export sector snapped a five-month losing streak in June, showing the strongest surge in more than eight years and cutting the country's trade deficit significantly, Statistics Canada said today. Canadian exports surged 6.3 percent in June, the biggest gain since December 2006.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, was little changed as oil, Canada’s largest export, turned sharply lower.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, slid 0.1 percent to C$36.91. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, gained 0.8 percent to C$32.50.
Trinidad Drilling (TSE:TDG/Trinidad-Drilling/" rel="7902">TSE:TDG) gained 4.5 percent to C$3.26 after reporting a narrower loss of of C$1.5 million, from its C$24.8 million loss a year earlier.
U.S. crude for September delivery fell 66 cents to $45.08 a barrel, recovering from Monday's four-month low.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, inched down 0.1 percent as gold fell. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, added 1.3 percent to C$17.76. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, retreated 1.8 percent to C$8.81.
SEMAFO (TSE:SMF) gained 4.4 percent to $2.86. The mining company reported earnings of $22.1 million for the second quarter, up about 33 percent from a year earlier.
Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,084.81 an ounce, while U.S. gold for delivery in December fell 0.8 percent to $1,082.40 an ounce.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, added 0.4 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, rose 0.7 percent to C$76.99. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, gained 0.4 percent to C$53.03.
Fiera Capital (TSE:FSZ) added 2.9 percent to C$12.96 after reporting a profit of C$7.5 million, or C$0.11 per share, in the second quarter, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier. The investment firm increased its quarterly dividend 8 percent to C$0.14 per share.
Cardiome Pharma (NASDAQ:CRME) dropped 0.6 percent to C$9.26 after reporting a net loss of C$7.4 million, or C$0.43 per share in the second quarter, compared to a loss of C$4.2 million, or C$0.26 per share, in the prior-year period.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) slid 0.2 percent to 588.75 at 12:18 p.m. in Toronto.
In the U.S. market, shares pushed sharply higher and looked to snap a three-day losing streak Wednesday on the heels of seemingly conflicted U.S. economic data. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) added 0.7 percent to 2,107.57 at 11:53 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) advanced 0.4 percent to 17,614.30, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) rose 1.2 percent to 5,165.72. Most followed shares included First Solar, Activision Blizzard, Walt Disney, Priceline, Dish Network, Wendy’s, Lumber Liquidators, Time Warner, Apple, and Etsy.