Tag Archives: materials group

TSX jumps 1.3 pct as Fed holds steady, gold miners surge

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reuters.com

September 21, 2016 

* TSX ends up 188.84 points, or 1.30 percent, at 14,710.82

* All of the TSX’s 10 main groups move higher

By Alastair Sharp

TORONTO, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index notched its highest close in almost two weeks on Wednesday as gold miners surged after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, which also boosted shares of dividend-paying utility companies.

Adding to the upward momentum, energy companies gained as oil prices rose sharply after a third surprise weekly drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended up 188.84 points, or 1.30 percent, at 14,710.82, its highest finish since Sept. 8. All of the index’s 10 main groups gained.

The Fed strongly signaled it could still tighten monetary policy by the end of this year, while three dissenters said they favored raising rates this week.

“The market will see this as a continuation of the standard operating procedure thus far, namely that rates are lower for longer, that this is a very cautious Fed,” said John Stephenson, president at Stephenson & Company Capital Management.

“I think the reality is this is a Fed that is more market-dependant than it is data-dependant,” he added.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, jumped 4.6 percent, as the Fed news helped extend gold’s gains after the Bank of Japan earlier adopted a target for long-term interest rates. Barrick Gold Corp surged 7.9 percent higher to C$24.51 and Goldcorp Inc advanced 6.2 percent to C$22.06.

The energy group rose 1.8 percent, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd up 1.7 percent at C$39.33 and Suncor Energy Inc adding 1 percent to C$34.40.

Industrials rose 1.2 percent, including gains for railroad stocks, while financials advanced 0.6 percent.

Utilities gained 1 percent as the Fed hold pushed investors back towards stocks that offer yield.

“There are no bargains out there. The yield plays in general have been picked over, so it’s very hard to find something that’s attractive for a yield perspective that’s also attractive from a valuation perspective,” Stephenson said.

BlackBerry Ltd shares rose 2.2 percent to C$10.20. The company has agreed to offer anti-hacking software from a startup that last year discovered a major Android bug, it said, as the once-dominant smartphone company seeks to leverage ties to corporate and government clients to boost its software revenue.

The value of Canadian wholesale trade rose in July for the fourth consecutive month, posting a 0.3 percent gain on strength in the motor vehicle and parts subsector, Statistics Canada said.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Chris Reese and Meredith Mazzilli)

Source: CANADA STOCKS-TSX jumps 1.3 pct as Fed holds steady, gold miners surge | Kitco News

TSX rises to 1-week high as banks gain, energy weighs 

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tsx-stock-exchange-building

reuters.com

Tuesday September 20, 2016

* TSX ends up 25.75 points, or 0.18 percent, at 14,521.98

* Seven of the TSX’s 10 main groups move higher

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index rose to a one-week high on Tuesday as shares of banks and other financial sector companies climbed, while the energy sector weighed as oil prices hit six-week lows intraday.

The financials group, which accounts for 35 percent of the index’s weight, gained 0.6 percent as investors braced for the outcomes of Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan policy meetings on Wednesday.

Royal Bank of Canada advanced 0.4 percent to C$81.06 and Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.6 percent to C$70.43.

Today’s rally shows that investors still have faith in major central banks to keep interest rates low, said Ian Scott, a portfolio manager at Manulife Asset Management.

The interest-rate-sensitive telecommunications sector rose 0.5 percent, while both the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors gained more than 0.8 percent and technology stocks advanced 1.3 percent.

“There has just been a shift toward some info-tech (information technology stocks) lately in general because they do have some good growth,” Scott said.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 25.75 points, or 0.18 percent, at 14,521.98. It touched its highest since Sept. 12 at 14,573.25.

Seven of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher.

The energy group fell 1 percent as U.S. oil prices fell to the lowest in six weeks before settling modestly higher. One of the most influential weights on the index was Encana Corp , which fell 7.6 percent to C$12.04 after the natural gas producer said late on Monday it will issue 107 million new shares to raise just more than $1 billion. Cenovus Energy Inc declined 1.3 percent to C$17.52.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, edged 0.1 percent higher.

Barrick Gold’s Veladero gold mine in Argentine, closed by the government last week after a solution containing cyanide leaked, could resume operations in the next two weeks, the company’s president said on Monday. Its shares were unchanged at C$22.71.

Agrium Inc advanced 0.8 percent to C$119.81. The company’s CEO said that tough farm conditions make it the right time for a merger with Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc

Canadian interest rates will stay low for longer as the economy faces strong headwinds and business investment is weaker than expected, but government spending on infrastructure will help growth, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish)

Source: CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises to 1-week high as banks gain, energy weighs | Kitco News