TSX Poised For Positive Open

Eagle River, WI 10/21/2011 (PennyPayDay) – Bay Street stocks are poised for a positive open Friday amid steady commodities and investors' anxiety over the EU summit scheduled later this week. Germany and France released a statement on Thursday saying leaders would now hold two summits to discuss the debt crisis, with a solution in place by Wednesday's second meeting.

Meanwhile, latest data from Statistics Canada revealed Canada's annual core inflation rate jumped in September to its highest level since December 2008. The Canadian strengthened against the U.S. dollar after the inflation report.

On Thursday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index edged down 19.17 points or 0.16 percent to 11,830.33.

The price of crude oil was little changed Friday morning as traders turned cautious ahead of the week-end EU summit. Crude for December delivery gained $1.05 to $87.12 a barrel.

The price of gold edged up Friday morning after falling in the past four sessions amid a flat U.S. dollar. Gold for December moved up $30.90 to $1,643.80 an ounce.

In corporate news from Canada, onshore well drilling services provider Precision Drilling reported a 48 percent rise in third-quarter profit at C$83.47 million or C$0.29 per share compared to C$56.29 million or C$0.20 per share reported last year. Analysts were expecting the company report earnings of C$0.20 per share in the quarter

Packaging machines and products company Winpak Ltd. reported improved third quarter profit of $14.4 million or $.22 per share compared to $13.1 million or $0.20 per share last year.

Financial services company Accord Financial Corp. reported third quarter net earnings of $2.2 million or $0.25 per share, up from $1.36 million or $0.15 per share last year.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said consumer prices rose 3.2 percent year-over-year in September, led by higher prices for gasoline and food. This follows a 3.1 percent increase posted in August. Economists were expecting a reading of 3.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the index increased 1.9 percent year-over-year in September, following a 1.5 percent advance the month before. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada's core index advanced 2.2 percent year-over-year in September, the largest gain since December 2008. The increase follows a 1.9 percent rise in August.

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