Nov. 5, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --

Canadian stocks remained in the green in afternoon deals on Thursday, following strength seen in the U.S. and Europe. Traders mulled over an assortment of earnings news, as well as better-than-expected economic data from the U.S. The S&P/TSX composite index finished ahead 109.50 points or a full percentage point to 11,180.70. Telecom stocks gained, as Telus added 2.8% to $33.95 and BCE was up 2.6% to $26.46 to lead the sector higher. In corporate news, Dorel Industries surged 10.4% to $32.80 after the company reported third-quarter net income of $30.2 million U.S. or $0.91 U.S. per share compared to $27.2 million U.S. or $0.82 U.S. per share in the year-ago quarter. Fortis gained 1.6% to $25.81 after the company posted third-quarter net earnings of $36 million or $0.21 per share, compared to $49 million or $0.31 per share in the same quarter last year. Sun Life Financial dropped 6.5% to $28.16 after the company reported a third-quarter net loss of $140 million, compared to a net loss of $396 million in the third quarter of 2008. Manulife Financial lost 3.6% to $19.86 after the company reported third-quarter net loss of $172 million, compared to net income of $510 million last year. Goldcorp reported third-quarter net income for the third quarter was $114.2 million U.S. or $0.16 U.S. per share, down from $297.2 million U.S. or $0.42 U.S. per share for the year-ago quarter. The stock was up 1.3% to $43.18. Aurizon Mines Ltd. added 1.5% to $4.90 after the company said its third-quarter net income rose to $8.2 million from $7.1 million in the prior-year period. Canadian Natural Resources lost 1.3% to $67.71 after the company reported third-quarter net earnings were $658 million or $1.21 per share, much lower than prior year's $2.84 billion or $5.25 per share. Agrium gained 4% to $53.27 after the company announced that it is increasing its exchange offer to acquire CF Industries Holdings to $92.99 per CF share. Industrial-Alliance Insurance dropped 0.7% to $30.25 after the shares were downgraded to “neutral” from “outperform” at Credit Suisse. Roctest Ltd soared 25.2% to $1.74 after the company posted third-quarter net earnings of $400,000 or $0.07 per share, compared to $150,000 or $0.03 per share in the last-year quarter. In economic news, Statistics Canada reported building permits increased 1.6% to $5.1 billion in September, beating expectations for an 1.3% rise but slower than the 7.38% jump seen in August. The Canadian dollar was flat at 93.80 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET All 14 TSX subgroups ended the day in the black, led by a 2.4% surge by global base metals, while telecoms were next best at 1.6% and metals and mining stocks were 1.3% better. The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 0.20 points to 1,331.55, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 4.47 points to 634.30.