Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market racked up a solid gain for a second day Wednesday thanks to major acquisition activity in the Canadian mining sector along with rising oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 59.16 points at 13,460.21 while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 37.72 points to 2,303.46.

The rise on the TSX followed a 156-point surge Tuesday, which gave the Toronto market its first positive close of 2011.

Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. (TSX:CLM) is being taken over by U.S. miner Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) for $4.9 billion. Cliffs is offering $17.25 per share in cash, which is a 30% premium to Consolidated Thompson’s share price of $13.38 Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Consolidated Thompson shares surged $3.97, or 29.67%, to $17.35 on a very high volume of 48.4 million shares on the TSX.

“The very fact is, a company’s survival is through growth and at this point in time, it’s cheaper to buy a company on Bay Street than to drill a hole in the ground,” observed Irwin Michael, president of I.A. Michael Investment Counsel Ltd. and manager of three ABC funds. He expects to see more of this activity since there are so many companies sitting on large amounts of cash.

“You’re going to see more and more M&A just because there a number of companies that are relatively cheap. You’re getting the white heat from investors who want to get their money invested and consequently I think the catalyst will be operating companies wanting to buy other operating companies and I think that’s going to be a big factor.”

The all-cash deal also helped supported the Canadian dollar, which was up 0.29 of a cent at 101.33 cents US.

That’s because “invariably, (Cliffs) is going to have to pay in Canadian dollars, they have to convert from U.S. to Canadian,” added Michael.

Commodity prices were higher, with oil prices rising for a third day as the 1,300-kilometre trans-Alaska pipeline — which normally carries about 620,000 barrels a day — remained shut after a leak was discovered Saturday at a North Slope pump station. Oil production on the North Slope has been cut by 95%.

The February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 75 cents to close at a two year high of US$91.86 a barrel.

The rise also came as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a larger than expected decline in oil inventories along with supply increases for gasoline and distillates that were above forecasts.

The TSX energy sector rose 0.64% as Suncor Energy rose 25 cents to C$37.68 and Imperial Oil (TSX:CVE) climbed 38 cents to $41.22.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has declared force majeure on January crude shipments from its fire-damaged Horizon oilsands upgrader. The declaration frees the oil and gas producer (TSX:CNQ) from contractual obligations in the wake of the explosion and fire Friday at the project north of Fort McMurray which halted production. Canadian Natural shares were 48 cents lower at $42.02.

The Consolidated Thompson deal and rising copper prices helped send the base metals sector up 1.82%. The March copper contract on the Nymex was up six cents at US$4.41 a pound.

Quadra FNX Mining (TSX:QUX) gained 58 cents to C$16.97 and Lundin Mining Corp. (TSX:LUN) climbed 52 cents to $7.90.

Tech stocks also gained ground as Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) improved by 54 cents to $62.69.

Shares in CGI Group (TSX:GIB.A) gained 40 cents to $17.97 after the company’s U.S. subsidiary secured nearly US$550 million worth of bookings in the first quarter of its fiscal year. The contracts included a US$55-million deal with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The financial sector also supported the TSX, as Royal Bank (TSX:RY) climbed 45 cents to $53.01.

Gold stocks were the biggest TSX drag as bullion prices inched higher with the February contract in New York up $1.50 at US$1,385.80 an ounce. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) dipped 32 cents to C$43.04.

Markets also rose as Germany’s chancellor sought to reassure markets that her country will do whatever is necessary to stabilize the euro. However, it wasn’t clear if Angela Merkel was saying Berlin would be prepared to increase the current eurozone rescue package.

Merkel’s comment came amid a relatively successful Portuguese bond auction which eased market worries that the country would soon need a financial bailout, though experts warned it is still not clear of danger.

U.S. markets also ended the session higher as investors took in data showing that the U.S. economy ended last year on an encouraging note, with all parts of the country showing improvements. The Federal Reserve’s survey of economic conditions said that factories produced more, shoppers spent more and companies hired more, all of which point to a stronger economy in 2011.

The Dow Jones industrials ran ahead 83.56 points to 11,755.44.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 20.5 points to 2,737.33 while the S&P 500 index was up 11.48 points to 1,285.96.

In other corporate news, Lululemon Athletica Inc. (TSX:LLL) stock jumped $5.43 or 8.16% to $71.94 after the yoga clothing retailer raised its fourth-quarter earnings guidance due to stronger than expected sales.

And Magna International Inc. (TSX:MG) expects total sales for 2011 will come in at between US$25.6 billion and US$27.1 billion. Magna bases its projection on estimates that 12.9 million vehicles will be built in North America this year and 13.3 million units will be built in Western Europe. It shares dropped 57 cents to $59.02.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP) plans to spend up to $1.05 billion on capital projects this year, including $680 million to renew its basic track infrastructure and $200 million to increase volume and productivity. Its shares inched up a penny to $66.25.