TORONTO, March 15 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock
index ended higher on Thursday on a stream of U.S. data that
lifted investor hopes that the economy of Canada’s largest
trading partner is on the mend.

New claims for jobless benefits fell to a four-year low last
week, suggesting an improving labor market, while surveys from
regional Federal Reserve banks showed gains in manufacturing in
New York and a pickup in business conditions in the U.S.
mid-Atlantic region.

TORONTO, March 15 (Reuters) – A Canadian consortium
came two steps closer on Thursday to winning provincial approval
for its proposed C$3.8 billion ($3.83 billion) takeover of TMX
Group, sending shares of the nation’s largest market
operator higher even though a federal competition review could
still scupper the deal.

In mainly French-speaking Quebec, Autorité des marchés
financiers said it intends to approve the takeover by Maple
Group – a consortium of 13 banks, pension funds and other
financial institutions – despite concerns that it would create a
near-monopoly in Canadian financial trading.

TORONTO, March 14 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index ended sharply lower on Wednesday as gold miners fell as
bullion lost its safe-haven luster after Tuesday’s U.S. Federal
Reserve statement and recent U.S. data that has signaled
economic recovery.

Pat McHugh, Canadian equity strategist at Manulife Asset
Management, said appetite for gold has been diminished by the
stronger economic outlook and on an easing of concerns about the
euro zone’s debt problems.

TORONTO, March 14 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index sank on Wednesday, bucking the global equities trend, as
gold lost its safe-haven appeal as the U.S. dollar strengthened
after the U.S. Federal Reserve upgraded its economic outlook the
day before.

The greenback hit a fresh 11-month high against the yen and
a new one-month high against the euro on the Fed statement,
which came after a string of U.S. data that indicate a firm
economic recovery.

TORONTO, March 13 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index climbed on Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it
has seen recent signs of strength in the economy, while upbeat
U.S. retail sales data soothed fears about the health of the
global recovery.

The Toronto index followed U.S. stocks, which also got a
lift from the better than expected February U.S. retail sales
report.

TORONTO, March 13 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index edged slightly higher on Tuesday morning, tracking
firmness in global markets after German and U.S. data soothed
concerns about the health of the global economy.

Investor sentiment about the economic outlook in Europe was
bolstered after euro-zone finance ministers gave final approval
to a second bailout for Greece and data in Germany showed
analyst and investor sentiment rose significantly more than
expected in March.

TORONTO, March 12 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index fell for the first time in four sessions on Monday as weak
Chinese data fueled growth worries weighing on oil and metals
prices and pressuring the resource-heavy market’s key mining and
energy sectors.

Leading names on the downside included oil companies
Canadian Natural Resources, down 3.1 percent at
C$34.40, and Suncor Energy, which fell 3.1 percent to
C$33.19.

TORONTO, March 12 (Reuters) – Toronto’s resource-heavy
main stock index fell on Monday morning as Chinese economic data
weighed on oil and metals prices, pressuring the market’s key
mining and energy sectors.

Leading names on the downside included oil companies
Canadian Natural Resources, down 2.1 percent at
C$34.77, and Suncor Energy, which fell 1.4 percent to
C$33.75. Barrick Gold shed 0.8 percent at C$45.09,
while Teck Resources fell 1.6 percent to C$35.96

TORONTO, March 9 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index edged higher for a third day in a row on Friday, lifted by
bullish U.S. employment data and takeover speculation at grain
handler Viterra.

Viterra led the broader index higher and finished the day up
23.7 percent at C$13.58. The Regina, Saskatchewan-based company,
Canada’s biggest grain handler, said it had received expressions
of interest from unnamed third parties on a possible takeover.

TORONTO, March 9 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock
index was slightly higher on Friday morning but gains made on
bullish U.S. employment data were limited by weakness in gold
miners as bullion prices dropped.

Figures showed the U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs last
month, while the unemployment rate held at a three-year low of
8.3 percent. That helped push global equity
markets and the U.S. dollar higher, but weighed on safe-haven
gold.