The Toronto stock market moderated earlier gains but still closed higher Monday as investors searched for direction ahead of a barrage of Canadian quarterly earnings reports.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 41.33 points to 12,280.97, its sixth straight gain.
The TSX was helped by a string of upbeat earnings from major U.S. companies, including Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE:WHR) on Monday.
However, the optimism over earnings is being offset by concerns that the market has risen too high, too quickly, alongside fears that the eurozone may be unable to reach an agreement to bail out Greece’s struggling economy.
“Today is just a reflection of what we’ve seen the last few months, which is the underlying tones are positive, but everybody keeps worrying that it will end soon,” said Kate Warne, Canadian markets specialist with the Edward Jones brokerage in St. Louis.
“So the market isn’t zooming higher, but this constant crawl is actually pretty good news for investors.”
Warne expects the TSX to continue its incremental climb this week as Canadian companies begin to report their results, which are widely forecast to be positive across the board.
Commodities were mixed, with the June crude contract down 92 cents at US$84.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, weakened by a stronger U.S. dollar and ample crude inventories. Despite this, the Toronto energy sector added 0.26% and shares in Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) gained 41 cents to C$33.08.
The June bullion contract on the Nymex edged up 30 cents to US$1,154 an ounce. Shares in Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) gained 49 cents to C$40.87.
The May copper contract on the Nymex gained 1.5 cents to US$3.53 a pound but shares in Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) fell 54 cents to C$43.23.
The financial sector added 0.11%, as Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) gained 48 cents to $65.41.
BMO said Friday it had acquired failed Illinois bank Amcore. Under the deal, BMO will assume approximately US$2.1 billion in deposits and acquire roughly $2.5 billion in assets, including approximately $2 billion in loans. BMO’s Harris Bank unit is a key player in the Chicago area and other parts of the U.S. Midwest.
And shares in Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) gained 47 cents to C$62.20, close to an all-time high for the bank as analysts suggested RBC could follow some of the other big Canadian banks in making an American acquisition.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.05 of a cent to 99.86 cents US.
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.93 points to 1,672.85.
New York markets were mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.75 of a point to 11,205.03. The S&P 500 lost 5.23 points to 1,212.05, while the Nasdaq fell 7.20 points to 2,522.95.
In U.S. corporate news, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), the world’s largest car rental company, agreed to buy rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE:DTG) for about US$1.17 billion in cash and stock.
In Canada, shares in Greystar Resources Ltd. (TSX:GSL) plunged $2.90 or nearly 45% to C$3.60 on heavy trading of 6.5 million shares. This followed a warning by the Canadian mining company that its flagship Angostura project is now in doubt because of sweeping changes being sought by Colombia’s environment ministry.
Stock in Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX:SJR.B) added three cents to $19.45 after the telecom company formally announced that it will launch a wireless service by late 2011.
And shares in mining company Crystallex (TSX:KRY) dropped two cents or 4.7% to 41 cents after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to nationalize gold mining concessions in the country. Crystallex has been struggling with getting the necessary approvals from the Venezuelan government for its Las Cristinas gold project.