The Toronto stock market was set to advance Wednesday as the Greek government moved to reassure markets that it can meet the conditions for a crucial bailout.
The TSX resource sector will be in focus as oil prices headed higher after Iranian state TV said the country had cut oil exports to six European countries in response to European Union sanctions, which include a boycott of new oil contracts with Iran. And traders took in earnings from two major Canadian energy companies.
The March contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.30 to US$102.04 a barrel.
Higher commodity prices also helped push the Canadian dollar up 0.56 of a cent to 100.61 cents US.
New York futures also ran ahead with the Dow Jones industrial futures up 81 points to 12,921, the Nasdaq futures gained 17.5 points to 2,593.5 while the S&P 500 futures advanced 9.3 points to 1,357.
Traders were encouraged as Greece’s finance minister said all pending issues in its international creditors’ requirements for the country’s second bailout will be completed ahead of a Wednesday evening conference call between eurozone finance ministers.
Evangelos Venizelos said that “very few” issues remained.
The TSX fell 44 points Tuesday after a meeting between the ministers scheduled for Wednesday was called off because Athens had not met all the requirements for the €130-billion bailout, including plugging a €325-million financing gap. The ministers also demanded written guarantees from the governing coalition’s party leaders that tough austerity measures will be put into place, even after elections scheduled for April.
Greece needs the bailout in order to head off default late next month.
On the earnings front, Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM) cut its net loss to US$117 million or 11 cents a share in the latest quarter from US$350 million a year ago. Production averaged 426,000 oil equivalent barrels a day, a nine per cent increase over the previous year. Meanwhile, annual cash flow jumped 16% to $3.4 billion.
Cenovus Energy Inc. is raising its dividend 10% to 22 cents a share. The oilsands operator and refiner posted quarterly net earnings of $266 million, or 35 cents per share, an increase from $78 million, or 10 cents per share, a year ago. Operating earnings were equal to 44 cents per share, falling short of the 55-cent expectation from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
In the U.S., agricultural equipment maker Deere & Co. said strong equipment sales, particularly abroad, boosted quarterly net income by four per cent to US$532.9 million or $1.30 a share. The company is raising its outlook for 2012.
And troubled snack food maker Diamond Foods Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. have called off their $1.5-billion deal for Diamond to buy the Pringles brand. Cereal maker Kellogg Co. is swooping in and made a $2.7-billion deal to purchase the brand. Kellogg said the transaction will help to strengthen its snacks business, which it is trying to make as big globally as its cereal business.
Other commodities were mixed with April gold ahead $7.90 to US$1,725.60 an ounce while March copper was unchanged at US$3.81 a pound.
Asian markets advanced as Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo soared 2.3%.
The surge comes a day after the Bank of Japan announced a further loosening of monetary policy through increased purchases of government bonds, raising hopes the yen’s strength could abate.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.1%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.1% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 0.3%.
European bourses also advanced with London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.21%, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 1.19% and the Paris CAC 40 climbed 1.01%.