TSX advances as bank gains offset golds

By John Tilak

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday, with strength in the financial sector offsetting a decline in gold miners and with the market taking some encouragement from mixed U.S. and European economic data.

The positive investor sentiment also helped lift U.S. and European stocks, but lack of safe-haven interest sent the price of gold to a 2-1/2 week trough. That limited the gains of Toronto's stock market, which has a heavy weighing of gold miners.

Markit's Eurozone Manufacturing PMI fell in March but topped a preliminary estimate. In the United States, new orders for factory goods rose in February but a gauge of planned business spending slipped, an indication factory activity was expanding at a modest pace.

"The market is locked in sideways action," said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada. "There's a gap between the market enthusiasm and the economic reality."

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was up 33.48 points, or 0.11 percent, at 12,708.62. Nine of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.

The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, was down 1.5 percent as the price of bullion declined 1.2 percent. Goldcorp Inc slid 1.9 percent to C$33.32, and Barrick Gold Corp fell 1.4 percent to C$29.06.

Financials, the index's weightiest sector, added 0.5 percent. Royal Bank of Canada , the country's biggest bank, was up 0.6 percent to C$61.62.

Energy shares climbed 0.2 percent. Suncor Energy Inc gained 0.6 percent to C$31.01.

Shares of TransCanada Corp rose 0.5 percent to C$49.54 after it said it has begun to seek commitments from parties interested in transporting crude oil from Western Canada to Eastern Canadian markets on a natural gas pipeline it intends to convert to oil.

($1=$1.02 Canadian)

(Editing by Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-may-open-higher-euro-zone-recovery-hopes-122702381--finance.html

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