Money world

Some positive American economic data and higher commodity prices pushed the Toronto stock market higher Wednesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 52.8 points to 11,592.4 after across the board weakness pushed the main index down 84 points on Tuesday.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that consumer spending rose a brisk 0.7 per cent last month, following a 0.6 per cent pullback in September.

Incomes, the fuel for future spending, rose 0.2 per cent for the second straight month.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.98 of a cent to 95.5 cents US. Currency analysts at Scotiabank said the rise was due to news that the Russian central bank is preparing to invest some of its foreign exchange reserves in the loonie. No amount has been confirmed.

The gold sector was the best TSX performer, up almost one per cent as the December bullion contract on the Nymex continued to head higher into record territory, up $13.50 to US$1,179.30 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: ABX) rose 72 cents to C$46.29.

The base metals sector rose 0.73 per cent amid a three-cent rise in December copper to US$3.14 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX: TCK.B) advanced 38 cents to $36.67.

The financials sector also lent support, up 0.5 per cent. Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) rose 41 cents to $53.55 after handing in an earnings report Tuesday that beat expectations.

The energy sector was little changed with the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange off two cents to US$76 a barrel after losing ground Tuesday in the wake of soft U.S. economic growth and consumer sentiment data.

The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 19.55 points to 1,427.96.

New York indexes were little changed as investors took in other economic data ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed five points to 10,438.7 after drifting 17 points lower.

The Nasdaq composite index moved 5.4 points higher to 2,174.58 while the S&P index added 0.7 of a point to 1,106.35 as orders for big-ticket factory goods fell unexpectedly by 0.6 per cent in October. But much of the weakness came from an 18.4 per cent drop in orders for goods related to defence. Excluding those, orders for other types of manufactured goods rose 0.4 per cent in October.

Still, the performance was weaker than economists expected. They were forecasting orders for durable goods to grow 0.5 per cent.

Also, the Labour Department said new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 35,000 to 466,000. That's the fewest claims since the week ending Sept. 13, 2008, and was far better than the 500,000 that economists had expected cash advance loans.

Later in the day, the University of Michigan's final report on consumer sentiment for November in expected to be revised up to 67 from a preliminary reading of 66, but will still be below the October reading of 70.6.

Comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve Tuesday also drove investor sentiment as the central bank said the economy's contraction for all of this year won't be as deep as it thought in a forecast released in the summer. Growth next year should turn out slightly better than the Fed previously projected and it also expects slightly lower unemployment.

On the corporate front, farm equipment maker Deere and Co. says big charges and lower sales of farm and construction equipment amid the economic downturn left it with a US$223 million loss for the fourth quarter. Deere says worldwide revenue dropped 28 per cent to US$5.33 billion. Its shares lost 62 cents to US$51.67.

Cossette Inc. (TSX: KOS) is recommending that shareholders reject the latest hostile takeover offer from Cosmos Capital Inc. The Quebec City-based advertising agency says it's not in company's best interests. The amended bid offers $7.87 per Cossette share and is subject to a due diligence condition which Cossette says cannot be satisfied. Its shares were unchanged at $8.02.

QLT Inc. (TSX: QLT) has agreed to pay US$20 million to settle a legal dispute with Massachusetts General Hospital, which had been seeking higher royalty payments from the sale of the Visudyne treatment for age-related blindness. In return for QLT's payment, the Boston-based hospital has agreed to dismiss its claims against the Vancouver-based drug developer. QLT shares ran up 25 cents to $4.23.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSX: FFH) said Tuesday that it has received preliminary regulatory approval to establish of a new property and casualty insurance company in Brazil. The company plans to carry out its operations across Brazil, in all lines of commercial business, with a primary focus on property, energy, casualty, surety, marine, financial lines, special risks, hull and aviation. Fairfax shares dipped $1.23 to $373.77.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.8 per cent, and China's Shanghai benchmark rebounded from a big retreat the day before, closing up 2.1 per cent.

London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.74 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.73 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 rose one per cent.

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