Equities keep rolling

Stock markets in Toronto were higher Thursday as oil prices gained ground in the wake of a promise from the International Monetary Fund to boost its lending capacity to deal with a global economic slowdown.

The S&P TSX Composite Index gained 51.63 points by noon to 12,379.15, slightly off its highs of the morning.

The Canadian dollar hiked 0.18 cents to 99.07 cents U.S.

The financials sector rose in the wake of American banking reports as Royal Bank gained 39 cents to $52.84 and TD Bank climbed 64 cents to $77.84.

The energy sector gained ground as the IMF estimated countries around the world would need about $1 trillion U.S. in loans over the coming years. Markets rose sharply Wednesday after the IMF said it aimed to increase its financial firepower by around $500 billion U.S. so it can give out new loans.

The IMF has put up about a third of the financing for Europe's bailouts over the past two years, but there are growing worries that non-European countries will also need more help given the worsening economic outlook.

Suncor Energy gained 35 cents to $34.29 and Imperial Oil rose 48 cents to $46.90.

Other commodities were also higher with March copper up four cents to $3.79 U.S. a pound. The metal, viewed as an economic barometer since it is used in so many businesses, is up about 10 cents this week following stronger than expected fourth quarter growth in China.

China is the world's biggest copper consumer. The data raised hopes Chinese authorities would loosen lending requirements in order to encourage growth.

In other corporate news, Scotiabank is in the early stages of hunting for buyers interested in its skyscraper headquarters in downtown Toronto.

The second-tallest tower in the country will hit the auction block soon, with the bank hoping to fetch $1 billion for it. That would make it the biggest commercial real estate deal in Canadian history. Scotiabank shares gained 54 cents to $53.10.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. has extended a contract with Canadian Tire Corp. to transport "the vast majority" of the big retailer's domestic container traffic until early 2017. The value of the contract was not disclosed. CP shares advanced 88 cents to $72.79.

On matters economic, Statistics Canada told us this morning that manufacturing sales in this country rose 2% in November to $49.6 billion, the fourth such hike in five months, largely the result of gains in the motor vehicle and petroleum industries, as well as machinery sales.

Experts had called for a jump of about 1.8%.

Elsewhere, the number of those collecting Employment Insurance benefits was practically unchanged in November from the month before at 539,000.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange added 4.23 points to 1,554.28, while the Nasdaq Canada index tacked on 3.10 points to 411.59

Ten of the 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green as traders broke for lunch. Financials led the parade, up 1.3%, while information technology ticked 1.1% higher, and industrials progressed 0.9%.

The four laggards were weighed by gold, off 1.1%, consumer staples, down 0.6%, and materials, fading 0.4%.

ON WALLSTREET

In New York, stocks advanced for a third straight session midday Thursday, as investors welcomed a slew of positive news on both the earnings and economic fronts.

The Dow Jones Industrials approached noon ET ahead 32.16 points of Wednesday's close to 12,611.10.

The S&P 500 remained higher 6.59 points to 1,314.63, while the Nasdaq Composite ballooned 23.41 points to 2,793.12.

A 5% spike in shares of Bank of America led the Dow higher. The Charlotte, N.C., bank posted fourth-quarter net income of $2 billion U.S., reversing a year-earlier loss, and revenue that topped expectations.

Morgan Stanley posted a loss, but it wasn't as deep as analysts had expected, and shares of the bank surged almost 7%.

Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase both filed disappointing results in the past week, while Wells Fargo reported solid earnings.

Eastman Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday. Once a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, the company was recently trading around 39 cents U.S. a share.

UnitedHealth Group reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts.

Some of the nation's biggest tech firms will report their corporate results after the closing bell Thursday, including Google, IBM, Intel and Microsoft.

Google is expected to post robust earnings of $10.49 U.S. a share, up from $8.75 U.S. a year earlier. Microsoft's earnings are expected to remain essentially flat compared to the prior year, at 76 cents U.S. a share. IBM's earnings per share are projected to climb from $4.18 U.S. a year earlier to $4.62 U.S.

U.S. stocks advanced to six-month highs Wednesday, as investors welcomed the International Monetary Fund plan to boost its bailout fund and contain Europe's debt crisis.

Investors remain focused on Europe's crisis this week, with the IMF exploring options to raise up to $500 billion U.S. in additional lending resources.

Early Thursday, Spanish and French bond auctions drew solid demand, calming some fears about Europe's ability to fund its debt.

Greek officials will continue talks with the group representing private-sector investors and banks Thursday in an attempt to reach an agreement on the size of the writedown these creditors will take. No accord has yet been announced, but the creditors' representative says one may come in the days ahead.

Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department reported that 352,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits last week, down sharply from a revised reading of 402,000 claims in the previous week. It is also the fewest number of people filing for jobless claims since the week ending April 19, 2008.

Consumer prices held steady last month, largely due to declining gas prices. The government's key measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, showed prices were virtually unchanged from November to December.

The index for items minute food and energy rose 0.1% in December, after rising 0.2% in November.

Housing starts fell 4.1% in December, to an annual rate of 657,000 units. Building permits slipped 0.1% to an annual rate of 679,000.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note eased, pushing yields up to 1.98% from Wednesday's 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery acquired 52 cents to $101.11 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery ticked down $3.80 to $1,656.10 U.S. an ounce, losing momentum from earlier gains.