By John McCrank
TORONTO, July 14 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index finished higher for a second straight session on Tuesday in a broad rally led by financials, which were encouraged by strong results at Goldman Sachs in the United States.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 94.22 points, or 0.95 percent, at 9,986.15. Nine of the index's 10 main groups were higher.
The financials sector, which accounts for about a third of the index, ended up 2.01 percent, and the top six advancers on the TSX were from the financial group, led by Royal Bank of Canada, up 2.9 percent at C$47.86.
Toronto-Dominion Bank followed, up 1.7 percent at C$58.96. Bank of Nova Scotia also rose 1.7 percent, to C$42.14.
'What's helped (the market) for the past couple of days has been good earnings and good economic news,' said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.
Quarterly earnings at Goldman Sachs surged 33 percent on strong trading results, handily beating market expectations. The U.S. banking industry was near collapse just nine months ago.
Johnson & Johnson's quarterly results also beat analysts' forecasts, pointing to resilient pharmaceutical and consumer product sales in the United States.
'They're sort of two extremes here, I mean Goldman Sachs is very much of a risk animal, and Johnson & Johnson tends to attract risk-averse investors, and both companies beat expectations,' said Nakamoto. 'It's good that it's not just one sector doing well.'
Alimentation Couche-Tard, North America's second-biggest convenience store retailer and operator of a string of gas bars, rose 4.3 percent to C$14.92, after it reported a stronger quarterly profit.
In the index's materials group, Barrick Gold climbed 1.3 percent to C$37.38, and Kinross Gold rose 1.1 percent to C$21.17, as the price of gold edged higher on U.S. inflation worries. The group as a whole was up 0.66 percent.
Fertilizer producer Potash Corp was one of the biggest drags on the index, limiting gains in the materials group.
Potash Corp fell 2.5 percent to C$95.52, extending a slide that started on Monday after the head of India's IFFCO, a farmer fertilizer cooperative, said that three international companies had agreed to supply Indian buyers with potash well below current spot market prices.
($1=$1.13 Canadian)
(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Peter Galloway) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canadian company news ................................ Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)... FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: Canadian Equities speed guide...................... S&P/TSX Composite index ............................. S&P/TSE Venture composite index ..................... TSX most active....................................... Venture Exchange most active........................... Top TSX pct gainers................................... Top TSX pct losers.................................... S&P/TSX 60 index ..................................... 52 week highs: TSX............... Venture.............. 52 week lows: TSX............... Venture.............. Canadian dollar quote..................... FOR MAIN GLOBAL MARKET DATA AND MARKET REPORTS: FTSE EUROTOP 300 ..... EUROPEAN REPORT ....... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ (john.mccrank@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8083; Reuters Messaging: john.mccrank.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TORONTO, July 14 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index finished higher for a second straight session on Tuesday in a broad rally led by financials, which were encouraged by strong results at Goldman Sachs in the United States.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 94.22 points, or 0.95 percent, at 9,986.15. Nine of the index's 10 main groups were higher.
The financials sector, which accounts for about a third of the index, ended up 2.01 percent, and the top six advancers on the TSX were from the financial group, led by Royal Bank of Canada, up 2.9 percent at C$47.86.
Toronto-Dominion Bank followed, up 1.7 percent at C$58.96. Bank of Nova Scotia also rose 1.7 percent, to C$42.14.
'What's helped (the market) for the past couple of days has been good earnings and good economic news,' said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.
Quarterly earnings at Goldman Sachs surged 33 percent on strong trading results, handily beating market expectations. The U.S. banking industry was near collapse just nine months ago.
Johnson & Johnson's quarterly results also beat analysts' forecasts, pointing to resilient pharmaceutical and consumer product sales in the United States.
'They're sort of two extremes here, I mean Goldman Sachs is very much of a risk animal, and Johnson & Johnson tends to attract risk-averse investors, and both companies beat expectations,' said Nakamoto. 'It's good that it's not just one sector doing well.'
Alimentation Couche-Tard, North America's second-biggest convenience store retailer and operator of a string of gas bars, rose 4.3 percent to C$14.92, after it reported a stronger quarterly profit.
In the index's materials group, Barrick Gold climbed 1.3 percent to C$37.38, and Kinross Gold rose 1.1 percent to C$21.17, as the price of gold edged higher on U.S. inflation worries. The group as a whole was up 0.66 percent.
Fertilizer producer Potash Corp was one of the biggest drags on the index, limiting gains in the materials group.
Potash Corp fell 2.5 percent to C$95.52, extending a slide that started on Monday after the head of India's IFFCO, a farmer fertilizer cooperative, said that three international companies had agreed to supply Indian buyers with potash well below current spot market prices.
($1=$1.13 Canadian)
(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Peter Galloway) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canadian company news ................................ Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)... FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: Canadian Equities speed guide...................... S&P/TSX Composite index ............................. S&P/TSE Venture composite index ..................... TSX most active....................................... Venture Exchange most active........................... Top TSX pct gainers................................... Top TSX pct losers.................................... S&P/TSX 60 index ..................................... 52 week highs: TSX............... Venture.............. 52 week lows: TSX............... Venture.............. Canadian dollar quote..................... FOR MAIN GLOBAL MARKET DATA AND MARKET REPORTS: FTSE EUROTOP 300 ..... EUROPEAN REPORT ....... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ (john.mccrank@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8083; Reuters Messaging: john.mccrank.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.