Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market racked up a small advance Friday as resource stocks turned positive and the TSX found some support from a strong earnings report from tech giant Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM).

The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 20.23 points to 13,201.46 while the TSX Venture Exchange gained 28.63 points to 2,134.44.

The TSX was dragged down by the financial sector after Bank of Montreal announced a sizable all-stock deal to expand its presence in the U.S. banking industry.

Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) shares fell $4.05 or 6.53 per cent to $58 after it announced it is buying Wisconsin-based bank Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (NYSE:MI) in a deal worth US$4.1 billion. Meanwhile, Moody’s Investor Services said it would launch a review of BMO for a potential downgrade over concerns related to M&I’s exposure to the U.S. housing market and an otherwise shaky economy.

The Canadian dollar lost 0.67 of a cent to end the day at 98.74 cents U.S. as the U.S. dollar advanced against other currencies.

Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) shares rose $1.08 or 1.81% to $60.69 after the company posted record third-quarter results, helped again by strong international growth and sales of its new BlackBerry Torch.

“It’s a strong cash flow generating firm, with a big market share, but it’s not getting any love,” said Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer of Russell Investments Canada.

“Our theory is that there is enough room for the Android, the Apple and the BlackBerry to be in this market and make lots of money.”

The RIM earnings report helped send the Nasdaq composite index 5.66 points higher to 2,642.97 while the S&P 500 index was ahead 1.04 points to 1,243.91.

The Dow Jones industrial average down 7.34 points to 11,491.91.

Oil prices moved higher despite the rising greenback, with the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 32 cents to US$88.02 a barrel. The energy sector gained 0.76% and Talisman Energy (TSX:TLM) gained 35 cents to $20.89.

Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) shed 18 cents to $36.30 after the energy giant launched a $1.75-billion development deal with Total E&P Canada Ltd., a division of France’s Total SA. The two companies said they would pair on three projects in Alberta, which has become a major target for foreign investors.

The base metals sector was up 1.75% as the March copper contract on the Nymex climbed four cents to US$4.16 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) ran ahead $2.19 to $58.39 and Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) improved by 16 cents to $6.87.

Sherritt International Corp. (TSX:S) has approved an increase in the cost of its Ambatovy nickel-cobalt project in Madagascar to a total budget of US$4.76 billion. The new price tag is up from an earlier estimate of $4.52 billion. Its shares declined four cents to $8.26.

Gold stocks advanced as the February contract on the Nymex gained $8.20 to US$1,379.20. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) gained 40 cents to $52.37 and Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) rose 49 cents to $18.45.

Market sentiment failed to find lift from an agreement by EU leaders on Thursday night to create a new crisis resolution mechanism to kick in after 2013. The system would force losses on private investors in some cases and encourage countries with weak finances to clean up their balance sheets.

The 27 countries, however, did not agree on any measures to ease the debt crisis now. Upon resistance from Germany and France, the region’s paymasters, the bloc decided not to increase the current bailout fund of US$1 trillion and rejected the notion of creating European bonds.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service cut Ireland’s credit rating by five notches to Baa1 from Aa2 and warned of further downgrades if the country cannot regain control of its debts and tame its deficit.

Dietmar Hornung, the senior Ireland analyst for Moody’s, said Ireland remained vulnerable to further bad-loan shocks in its banks.

Adatia suggested that seasonality had something to do with the tepid performance on markets.

“As we head into the holiday season, people may not want to be holding some positions,” he said.

“If anything negative comes out during that time period and they’ve had some good gains over the past couple of months now. People think, I can take some profits right now during the holiday season, come back in the new year.”

The TSX declined 38 points this past week with mining stocks under pressure because of the European debt crisis.

But the Dow industrials registered a gain of 81.59 points or 0.7% on the week.