The commodity-heavy S&P/TSX composite index climbed to an all-time intraday high of 14695 shortly after Nymex crude oil briefly spiked to a record high of $126.40.

At 12:22 p.m. EDT, Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index is up 143 points to 14664, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 95 points to 12841, the S&P 500 is up nine points to 1397 and the Nasdaq is up 29 points to 2475.

European stock markets closed with the Eurostoxx up 11 points to 3239, the UK FTSE 100 up 16 points to 6221 and the German DAX up 33 points to 7036.

The growth of new housing prices in Canada slowed in March on both a monthly and annual basis, Statistics Canada reported. The slowdown continued a trend that began in September 2006 and was mainly the result of a softening market in Alberta, the statistical agency reported. Nationally, prices rose in March, in pace with economists' expectations of a 0.2% monthly gain.

In a speech to the Economic Club of Toronto, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said cutting the debt and reducing taxes are cornerstones of the government's philosophy.

Yields on two-year Canadian government bonds are down 1.9 bps to 2.72%, with five-year yields down 3.4 bps to 3.11%, 10-year yields down 4.4 bps to 3.55% and 30-year yields down 3.2 bps to 4.05%. The Canadian 10-year note is yielding 20.81 bps less than the U.S. 10-year note.

U.S. two-year yields are up 1.7 bps to 2.26%, with five-year yields flat at 2.96%, 10-year yields down 1.5 bps to 3.75% and 30-year yields down 2.4 bps to 4.50%. The Eurodollar September 08 contract is down 3.5 ticks to 97.34. The yield curve is flatter, with the 10/2-year spread down 2.7 bps to 149.77 bps.

British fixed income markets were down after numerous components of the UK's April producer prices data series rose to record highs. The Office for National Statistics said producers' input prices rose 2.4% in April from 1.7% in March, well above market forecasts for a 2.0% increase in seasonally adjusted terms. Year-over-year, April input prices rose 23.1%; the highest increase since records began in 1986. It follows a 20.5% rise in March and forecasts for a 21.7% increase.

Yields on UK two-year bonds are up 6.4 bps to 4.36%, with five-year yields up 4.7 bps to 4.31%, 10-year yields up 2.4 bps to 4.60% and 30-year yields flat at 4.46%.

In Germany, returns on two-year German bonds are up 6.4 bps to 3.76%, with five-year yields up 4.8 bps to 3.80%, 10-year yields up 1.1 bps to 4.01% and 30-year yields up 3.4 bps to 4.54%.

The Japanese yen is the main mover in foreign exchange following the release of several items of Japanese data in the overnight.

Japanese bankruptcies rose 8.3% year-over-year in April after rising 8.0% in March. Also, according to a survey by Eco Watchers, the current conditions index for Japan declined to a reading of 35.5 in April compared to March's 36.9 level. The economic outlook indicator fell to 36.1 compared to the previous 38.2 reading.

The Canadian dollar is up 0.0010 to 0.9957 against the U.S. dollar (1.0043 USD/CAD) and up 1.0350 to 103.3200 against the yen.

The U.S. dollar is up 0.9100 to 103.7700 against the yen and the Dollar Index is down 0.156 to 72.894.

The euro is up 0.0056 to 1.5537 against the U.S. dollar, up 0.0043 to 1.5604 against the Canadian dollar, down 0.0002 to 0.7921 against the pound sterling and is higher by 2.01 to 161.22 against the yen.

The pound sterling is up 0.0075 to 1.9615 against the U.S. dollar and up 0.0058 to 1.9699 against the Canadian dollar.

The front month gold contract at the Chicago Board of Trade is down $0.10 to $885.80 per ounce.

All data taken at 12:22 p.m. EDT.

By Adam Button, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Nancy Girgis, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it