Business
TSX stays in black
TSX stays in black
About this update from First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nTSX stays in black\n\nEarnings sink U.S. stocks\n Feb. 4, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) -- 04:40 pm EST\nEquity markets in Toronto managed to hold onto their gains Wednesday, while American stocks succumbed to a short-term rush before fading late in the day. The S&P TSX Composite Index finished the day up 52.52 points, to 8,681.15, after spending several hours 150 points ahead. The market has been trading in a range between roughly 8,200 and 8,900 since mid-January and some analysts were hard put to explain the sharp rise.The TSX energy sector maintained a 1% rise even as U.S. crude inventories jumped a much more than expected 7.2 million barrels last week as overall demand for motor fuel continued to slide.\nSuncor Inc. gained 75 cents to $24.28 and Petro-Canada advanced 47 cents to $28.11.The financial sector moved down as investors worry about the fate of a bailout plan for troubled U.S. banks. Royal Bank declined 33 cents to $30.52 while Bank of Montreal fell $1.45 to $31.32.The Dutch parent company of ING Canada Inc. is selling a $2-billion stake in the Canadian subsidiary. The sale will not affect ING Group's current ownership of ING Bank of Canada, known as ING Direct, which is a separate and distinct company from ING Canada. ING Canada shares tumbled $4.20 or 12.5% to $29.59.The gold sector was up, Goldcorp Inc. rising $1.30 to $36.10 and Barrick Gold Corp. gained $1.08 to $45.20.The base metals sector climbed as the price of copper was unchanged at $1.52 U.S. a pound. Teck Cominco Ltd. advanced 18 cents to $4.70 and First Quantum Minerals ran up $2.85 to $26.65.Shares in HudBay Minerals Inc. were six cents lower at $4.69 after the company said that the unions at its operations in Flin Flon and Snow Lake, Man., have voted to ratify new three-year collective agreements effective Jan. 1, 2009.The consumer staples sector was also a drag on the TSX, as shares in Saputo Inc. fell 90 cents to $18.70 after it said its third-quarter profits dropped nearly 30% to $57.8 million because of a cheese inventory writedown, depressed international selling prices and plant closure costs. Revenues increased 18.8% to $1.517 billion from $1.277 billion.Loblaw Cos.lost 48 cents to $33.59.Shares in Research In Motion improved 68 cents to $68.95 after top executives reached a deal to settle a dispute with the Ontario Securities Commission over the...