SOLID ALCOA EARNINGS FAIL TO PROVIDE SPARK

The Toronto stock market yielded a small gain Wednesday as resource stocks largely failed to benefit from a positive earnings report and outlook from aluminum producer Alcoa Inc.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 17.43 points to 12,522.24 while the TSX Venture Exchange was up 3.73 points at 1,229.11.

The Canadian dollar was off US0.10¢ at US101.25¢ amid data showing slightly fewer housing starts last month.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported that December housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 197,976, down slightly from 201,376 in November but still higher than the 195,000 that economists had expected.

U.S. stock markets were positive after Alcoa Inc. reported better-than-expected revenue and predicted a 7% increase in demand this year, slightly better than the 6% increase in 2012.

Alcoa is viewed as a bellwether for the overall economy since its products are used in everything from cars to aircraft to appliances. Its shares erased early gains, dipping US2¢ to US$9.08 in New York.

The Dow Jones industrials gained 61.66 points to 13,390.51, the Nasdaq rose 14 points to 3,105.81 and the S&P 500 index added 3.87 points to 1,461.02.

The TSX gold sector was down about 0.65% as February bullion lost $6.70 to US$1,655.50 an ounce. Kinross Gold Inc. faded 18¢ to $9.21 and Goldcorp Inc. declined 39¢ to $35.42.

Gold and the companies that mine it have suffered in recent days because of uncertainty about whether the U.S. Federal Reserve might end its stimulus program of bond buying in the second half of 2013. Minutes from the Fed’s latest policy meeting showed a split over how long to continue the purchases amid concerns that they could destabilize the economy.

The bond buying, known as quantitative easing, has supported bullion prices because of worries the program would drive inflation higher.

“We’re much more neutral on gold today,” said Gareth Watson, vice-president, investment management and research, at Richardson GMP Ltd.

He said that along with a lessening of inflation worries, the overall fear factor on markets isn’t nearly what it was during the 2008 financial crisis and last year as the eurozone debt crisis worsened.

“The [Fed] minutes last week just gave people an excuse to actually execute on that trade. [When] they’re saying, look, we’re actually thinking of rolling back some of those programs sooner than you might think, then all of a sudden that was just the opportunity to step in and hit the sell button.”