Toronto Stock Exchange opens higher; traders eye Greek vote, rising commodities

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market opened higher Tuesday as commodity prices rebounded while investors kept their eyes on a key Greek parliamentary vote aimed at helping the country avoid a default on its debts.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 76.5 points to 13,043. The TSX Venture Exchange was up 1.4 points to 1,868.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.13 of a cent against the U.S dollar to 101.48 cents US as traders gain some confidence ahead of the vote in Greece on Wednesday.

Investors are hoping that Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will muster enough votes to get the euro28 billion (US$40 billion) austerity bill through Parliament in a vote. But the measures are proving unpopular, and Greek unions began striking Tuesday, a day before the vote, in the hopes of pressuring lawmakers to vote against the package.

If the package fails, Greece will face a default on its debts even though French banks are planning to accept slower repayment of their holdings of Greek bonds.

Commodity traders seemed more optimistic about the Greek debt situation and its impact on the global recovery.

Oil for August delivery rose 45 cents to $91.06 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining back some ground lost after last week's decision by the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels of crude over 30 days.

The August gold contract gained $3.50 to 1,499.90 per ounce, while copper prices rose three cents to $4.08 per pound.

In corporate news, Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT) has signed a deal with General Motors to help develop natural gas engine technology. Shares gained seven per cent or $1.44 to $22.70.

Reports say that the federal government is set to announce the sale of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX:SNC). Shares were up 33 cents to $56.10.

A large block of Dollarama shares (TSX:DOL) is trading hands at $32.50 per common share, about 67 per cent above the stock's price when the Montreal-based discount retailer went public in October 2009. The seller is an affiliate of Bain Capital Partners that will sell all of its remaining 9.15 million shares, or 12 per cent of the total, for nearly $298 million. Shares fell 17 cents to $32.58.

Wall Street opened higher after the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index showed home prices in major U.S. cities have risen for the first time in eight months, boosted by an annual flurry of spring buyers.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 41.7 points to 12,065.3. The Nasdaq added 7.6 points to 2,695.9 and the broader S&P index moved 4.25 points higher to 1,264.35.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.94 per cent, while France's CAC-40 rose 1.15 per cent. Germany's DAX was up 0.36 per cent.