Nov. 30, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --
Toronto stocks have moved modestly higher on Monday morning, recovering some of last week's losses. The key financial sector has led the way ahead of some key earnings reports.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index held onto its gains, to remain 33.65 points by noon to 11,498.06
The market received a boost as Statistics Canada reported real gross domestic product increased 0.1% in the third quarter. Real GDP was up 0.4% in September.
Financials are up ahead of earnings reports from National Bank. TD Bank, CIBC and Royal Bank, later in the week. Bank of Montreal, which reported last week, has jumped 1.75% and Royal Bank has added 1.1%.
Energy stocks are up as crude oil has edged higher amid choppy trading. EnCana Corp. has added 1.1% after the company said it has completed its transaction to split into two companies: Cenovus Energy and EnCana Corp.
Thomson Reuters dropped 8.3% after the company announced that it has acquired the business of ASSET4 AG, a Swiss-based company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Com Dev International plunged 8.2% after the company said its fourth-quarter revenues are projected to range between $56 million and $58 million. The company anticipates net loss to be less than $1 million for the quarter.
Canadian National Railway Company slipped 0.2% after the company's locomotive engineers went on strike over the weekend after talks broke off on Friday. CNR rejected a binding wage arbitration offer yesterday, according to reports.
IGM Financial lost 1.8% after the company announced that it has agreed to issue six million Non-Cumulative First Preferred Shares, Series B on a bought deal basis, for gross proceeds of $150 million.
The Canadian dollar chugged ahead 0.36 cents to 94.56 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The 14 TSX subgroups were evenly split by midday. Financials led the parade of winners, ahead 0.7%, while gold and materials tacked on 0.5% each.
The seven losing groups were weighed mostly by information technology, 0.7% down, real-estate, losing 0.5% and global base metals, which slid 0.4%.
The TSX Venture Exchange nipped ahead 0.21 points to 1,405.81, while the Nasdaq Canada edged upward 0.83 points to 647.58.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks took on more water by the middle of Monday's session as investors mulled a mild start to the holiday shopping period and the lingering threat of the Dubai debt shakeup.
The Dow Jones Industrials slipped 34.91 points by midday at 10,306.52. The S&P 500 index stumbled 3.92 points to 1,087.57, while the Nasdaq fell 14.56 points to 2,123.88.
Friday's big selloff, triggered by the Dubai debt crisis and a stronger dollar, pushed the three leading stock indexes down slightly for the week. But all three were also vulnerable after touching 13-month highs in the previous session.
The United Arab Emirates said Sunday it would guarantee banks in Dubai, where a crisis has emerged concerning efforts to delay payments on nearly $60 billion U.S. in debt.
Initial results for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend indicate that the average shopper was spending less at the nation's stores.
In a report issued Sunday, the National Retail Federation said the average shopper spent $343.31 U.S. over the holiday weekend, down from $372.57 U.S. last year. Overall sales rose to $41.2 billion U.S. from $41 billion U.S., with the number of shoppers climbing to 195 million from 172 million over the four-day span.
Treasury prices subsided, raising the yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.22% from Friday's 3.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gained three cents to $76.08 U.S.
Gold prices dumped two dollars to $1,174 U.S.
