TSX bounces back for winning day on rising oil prices, Asian economic growth

The Toronto Stock Exchange continued its lose-one-win-one pattern on Thursday, following Wednesday's late-afternoon losses with solid gains as oil prices rose and Asian countries reported economic growth.

The benchmark S&P/TSX composite index advanced by 185.21 points, or 1.62 per cent, to close at 11,635.85, with all 10 sub-indexes advancing, led by oil and gas and financials.

The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.10 US to $75.48 US a barrel on forecasts of growing demand. The Canadian dollar, whose fortunes tend to rise and fall with the price of oil, took a big leap on Thursday, up 1.21 cents to 96.97 cents US — its highest close in more than a month.

Canadian Natural Resources benefited from the gain in oil, rising 3.94 per cent to $37.16.

Gold fell $7.70 US to $1,222.20 US an ounce.

One of the brightest spots on the S&P/TSX on Thursday was Storm Exploration Inc., which advanced by 18.52 per cent to $13.63 after ARC Energy Trust reported it was buying the company for $680 million.

Teck Resources also made a good showing Thursday, rising 5.33 per cent to $34.19, and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan was 3.73 per cent higher at the end of the day, at $103.54.

In economic news on Thursday, Statistics Canada reported the country posted a $175-million trade surplus last month, much less than the $600 million expected by analysts, as a drop in exports was outweighed by a bigger drop in imports.

The United States posted a trade deficit of $40.3 billion US, which was slightly better than expected. What really moved the markets, however, was the report out of China that its trade surplus for May was $19.5 billion US, more than twice what analysts had estimated.

"People are basically saying what's happening in Europe doesn't have any impact on the economic situation" because of strong numbers from Asia, Stephen Gauthier at Fin-XO Securities Inc. in Montreal, told Bloomberg. "It's not a disaster so far in China."

U.S. stocks seemed unaffected by news that more Americans than anticipated filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the job situation in that country remains rocky.

"Initial jobless claims continued to tread water at around the 450,000 range," Meny Grauman, an economist at CIBC World Markets, wrote in a note. "That is much better than where it was this time last year, but still only consistent with very modest payroll growth. That suggests a very long recovery process for the labour market, and helps makes the case that U.S. Federal Reserve will keep rates on hold for even longer than what the market currently expects."

The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 273.28 points or 2.76 per cent to 10,172.53, while the Nasdaq composite was up 59.86 points, or 2.77 per cent, to 2,218.71.

The junior Venture composite index rose 8.34 points, or 0.58 per cent to 1,452.91.

European and Asian markets also posted strong gains on Thursday.

Why Optimists and Pessimists Like Gold Today

Lets start today off with a laugh...

THIS IS A NONPARTISAN JOKE THAT CAN BE
ENJOYED BY All PARTIES! NOT ONLY THAT-- it is POLITICALLY CORRECT!!


While walking down the street one day a "Member of
Parliament" is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.


'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.'



'No problem, just let me in,' says the man.

'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.'

'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP.

'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.'

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises....

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

'Now it's time to visit heaven.'

So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing.
They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.


'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven.
Now choose your eternity.'


The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.'



So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.


Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.


He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.


The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. 'I don't understand,' stammers the MP. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time.
Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.

What happened?'



The devil looks at him, smiles and says, 'Yesterday we were campaigning.. ... Today you voted.'

Markets test key supports

From copper to stocks, several world markets are dancing with key technical support levels and the way they break could set the tone for investors’ fortunes for the rest of the year.

Amid the uncertainty, investors pour into gold, sending spot prices to a new record high Tuesday of just more than US$1,252 an ounce.

“The markets around the world, they’re at critical support areas, and they really have to hold in here,” said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading. “I’m watching the S&P 500, because if the U.S. rally fails, I can’t imagine the other countries rallying while the U.S. gets crushed. All these markets are struggling.”

Soothing words from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, broke the negative spell Tuesday but investor uncertainty reigns.

He said the U.S. economic recovery remains on track and the country should avoid a double-dip recession.

“I would say if nothing else, bearish sentiment rules the market,” said John Lonski, chief economist with Moody’s Investment Services Inc. in New York. “There’s a lot of anxiety. That’s what all these [gold and copper] prices are telling me.”

Copper prices slipped through February lows around US$2.90 per pound on Friday. While the industrial metal, used extensively in construction, broke a six-day losing streak to close up at US$2.78 Tuesday, it is still in danger of breaking key support from the fall of 2009.

“In April we saw copper at over $3.60,” said Bart Melek, economist BMO Capital Markets. “But then we started seeing concern that China might slow its economy down intentionally, which has led to concerns that the real estate market in China could slide.”

The Dow Jones industrial average is 11% off its late April high while the S&P 500 has dropped 13%, a decline that puts them over the 10% level that marks a correction.

The S&P/TSX Composite has fallen 6% since its April high of 12,280.97, the most severe setback for Canadian markets since stocks began to recover in March 2009.

The slide in U.S. stocks has taken the S&P 500 to within striking distance oft the October 2009 lows of around 1,036.

Mr. Strazzullo said the 1,040 to 1,050 areas are crucial for the market. “This is really the last line in the sand,” he said. “If you don’t hold it here the rally from the March 2009 rally is over.”

Worries that have been driving stocks and copper lower — the European sovereign debt crisis and concerns about global growth — have been driving gold higher.

The metal is up 14% this year and could be heading for its 10th consecutive annual gain, which would be the longest winning streak since 1920. Holdings in ETFs backed by gold reached records in May, while there has been an increase in coin sales from mints.

Despite bearish signs throughout global markets, Mr. Bernanke’s comments were able to reassure investors Tuesday.

The S&P/TSX ended up 12.44 to 11,517.18 while the S&P 500 posted a gain of 1.1% to 1,062. and the Dow closed up 1.3% to 9,939.98.

However, Mr. Lonski said the gains aren’t anything to celebrate just yet, and judging from previous market corrections, things could get worse.

“I still see a lot of volatility still ahead,” Mr. Lonski said. “[The] peak U.S. value of market common stock is only off by 14%, and previous corrections of this particular sort, especially 1998 and 2002, included peak-to-trough decline by the market of between 20% and 30%.”

Financial Post