Business
Equities lose steam after Monday rally
Equities lose steam after Monday rally
About this update from Hudbay Minerals Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\nEquities lose steam after Monday rally\n\nFed, banks speak up\n Mar. 24, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) -- 04:30 pm EST\nSome of the bloom came off the rose for equity markets in North America Tuesday, after a financials-powered rally that saw some indexes rise as much as 500 points Monday. Toronto and New York indexes were weak following a substantial run-up Monday in response to the U.S. government's plan to help banks dispose of bad loans.The S&P/TSX Composite Index plunged nearly 140 points to end the day at 8,818.67, after the previous day's 498-point surge had left the main index a handful of points away from where it started the year. The TSX is still up 16% from the recent trough of March 9 - but it still is underwater year-to-date and down dramatically from last June's peak of just over 15,000.The TSX financial sector, which had surged 34% from the March 9 trough, was off on the day, as TD Bank declined $1.07 to $44.43 and National Bank fell $1.84 to $43.34.The energy sector gave back strength amid weakening oil prices.Oil has risen more than 30% this month as the U.S. dollar weakened and as traders wagered that the slide in the world's economy could be slowing. Oil had fallen in recent months as traders feared that economic weakness would crimp demand.Suncor Inc. declined $1.90 to $28.84 a day after its blockbuster merger deal with Petro-Canada which gave back $1.63 to $34.07. EnCana Corp. lost $1.07 to $54.43.The Toronto gold sector was down, as Goldcorp Inc. moved $1.25 lower to $40.57.The base-metals sector pulled back, with First Quantum Minerals down $5.53 to $36.69 after a big share issue while Teck Cominco Ltd. gained 33 cents to $6.97.HudBay Minerals Inc. ran up 54 cents to $6.34 after dissident investors won control of the mining company following a bitter proxy battle.Shaw Communications Inc. gained 10 cents to $20.10 as it reported subscriber growth in all its services, including an 11% rise in digital TV clients.The Canadian dollar was .55 cents lower to 81.20 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET Of the 13 TSX subgroups, eight ended the day on the downside, as energy stocks suffered a 2.7% setback, followed by the 2.1% losses sustained by the financials and metals and mining sectors. The five groups that gained ground were led upward by information technology, ahead 1.2%, followed closely by telecoms, up 1% and real-estate, ...