TSX marches on

The Toronto stock market was still in the green, amid a reminder of weakening American economic growth and disappointing earnings reports from the resource sector.

The S&P/TSX Composite index moved ahead 71.26 points by noon Friday to 11,711.01

The Canadian dollar added 0.40 cents to 99.40 cents U.S.

In the financial sector, Sun Life Financial ahead 24 cents to $21.11.

Shares in insurance and investment giant Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. added 49 cents to $380.49 after it said quarterly profit rose 14%, largely due to improved underwriting results and a jump in revenues from premiums written by its insurance and reinsurance businesses.

The energy sector rose as Cenovus Energy ahead 25 cents to $31.66.

The metals and mining group was down while September copper ran ahead two cents to $3.42 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources eased 22 cents to $27.66.

Among gold plays, Barrick Gold continued to lose ground after issuing a disappointing earnings report Thursday, down 38 cents to $32.66.

Eldorado Gold fell 26 cents to $10.26 reported quarterly net income of $46.6 million or seven cents share. That is down 38% from a year ago as the miner cited lower earnings before taxes from gold mining operations, and higher general, administrative, exploration and tax expenses.

Revenues from gold sales for the quarter came in at $214.2 million, down 13% from a year earlier.

Eldorado also revised its 2012 production guidance downward to 660,000 ounces of gold from a previous estimate of 730,000 to 775,000 ounces due to delays at its Efemcukuru project in Turkey and at Eastern Dragon in China.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 5.87 points to 1,187.29. The Nasdaq Canada index slid back 0.25 points to 332.92.

In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were on the move by lunch time, information technology leading the way, up 1.5%, while energy and financials each took on 1.2%.

The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, off 1%, while real-estate slid 0.2%, and materials eased 0.1%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks rose Friday as investors welcomed a slightly better-than-expected reading on U.S. second-quarter GDP.

The Dow Jones industrial average grew another 67.92 points by noon ET to 13,002.28, above the psychologically-important 13,000 level, which it has not crossed since early May.

The S&P 500 advanced 16.24 points to 1,376.26. The Nasdaq improved 40.70 points to 2,933.95

Facebook shares fell to an all-time low, after the social network company's first quarterly earnings release as a public company. Facebook beat analysts' revenue expectations slightly and earnings matched forecasts, but that was apparently not enough for Wall Street.

Starbucks shares also tumbled after quarterly earnings that missed analysts' expectations.

Expedia shares surged after the online travel booking company reported strong quarterly results.

Despite reporting mixed quarterly results and a disappointing outlook, Amazon shares moved higher as investors focused on the online retailer's long-term growth prospects.

Shares of Barclays gained after the bank apologized for the Libor scandal while reporting a $6.3-billion U.S. profit for the second quarter.

Merck shares rose after the pharmaceutical company beat earnings and sales expectations and affirmed its outlook for the year.

Chevron reported a profit that slipped from a year ago due to weaker oil prices, but the company's earnings per share still topped expectations. Revenue, however, fell short of estimates.

Del Frisco's, a high-end steakhouse chain, raised $75 million U.S. in its initial public offering late Thursday, as shares priced at $13, below the range of $14 to $16. Del Frisco's will list on the Nasdaq and begin trading under the ticker "DFRG" Friday.

On the economic front, the U.S. economy grew at a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter of 2012, according to the government. While that's down from a 2% rate in the first three months of the year, it's slightly better than the predicted 1.4% annual pace.

Also, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 72.3 in July from 73.2 in June. It was the lowest level since December.

Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged in July at 72, according to a survey of analysts

The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 1.51% from Thursday's 1.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for September delivery picked up 54 cents to $89.93 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $2.20 to $1,617.30 U.S. an ounce.