By Frank Pingue
TORONTO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed little changed on Wednesday as a handful of weaker energy and technology players kept the index from adding to already hefty quarterly and monthly gains.
Shares of oil company EnCana Corp fell 1 percent to C$62.00 and were the biggest weight on the index, followed by shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, which ended down 1.4 percent at C$72.38.
A see-saw performance on the TSX that led to its first lower close for the week was attributed largely to investors making last-minute adjustments to their portfolios before closing the books of the month and quarter.
'You just got some people taking advantage of the fact that there is some buying out there and so they are selling into the strengths of some of these names,' said Bruce Latimer, trader at Dundee Securities.
'So it's just people positioning things for the month end. They probably took profits in some good names and maybe put a little money to work in names that haven't performed yet.'
Among index sectors helping to keep the TSX from sliding in the session was the materials group, home to gold miners, which rose 0.12 percent as the price of gold reclaimed $1,000 an ounce on a weaker greenback.
Shares of Yamana Gold rose 1.86 percent to C$11.52 while Agnico-Eagle rose 1 percent to C$72.41.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended almost unchanged at 11,394.96. The TSX ended the month up 4.8 percent and rose 9.8 percent for the quarter.
The flat close followed data released early in the day that showed Canada's economy stagnated in July, raising some doubts about whether gross domestic product would return to solid growth in the third quarter.
A Reuters poll released on Wednesday offered a median forecast that Canada's main stock index will finish 2009 with a gain of nearly 30 percent as its heavy weighting in commodity and energy stocks benefits from further signs of economic recovery.
($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Editing by Peter Galloway) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canadian company news ................................ Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)... FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: Canadian Equities speed guide...................... S&P/TSX Composite index ............................. S&P/TSE Venture composite index ..................... TSX most active....................................... Venture Exchange most active........................... Top TSX pct gainers................................... Top TSX pct losers.................................... S&P/TSX 60 index ..................................... 52 week highs: TSX............... Venture.............. 52 week lows: TSX............... Venture.............. Canadian dollar quote..................... FOR MAIN GLOBAL MARKET DATA AND MARKET REPORTS: FTSE EUROTOP 300 ..... EUROPEAN REPORT ....... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS (frank.pingue@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 416 941-8094; Reuters Messaging: frank.pingue.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TORONTO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed little changed on Wednesday as a handful of weaker energy and technology players kept the index from adding to already hefty quarterly and monthly gains.
Shares of oil company EnCana Corp fell 1 percent to C$62.00 and were the biggest weight on the index, followed by shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, which ended down 1.4 percent at C$72.38.
A see-saw performance on the TSX that led to its first lower close for the week was attributed largely to investors making last-minute adjustments to their portfolios before closing the books of the month and quarter.
'You just got some people taking advantage of the fact that there is some buying out there and so they are selling into the strengths of some of these names,' said Bruce Latimer, trader at Dundee Securities.
'So it's just people positioning things for the month end. They probably took profits in some good names and maybe put a little money to work in names that haven't performed yet.'
Among index sectors helping to keep the TSX from sliding in the session was the materials group, home to gold miners, which rose 0.12 percent as the price of gold reclaimed $1,000 an ounce on a weaker greenback.
Shares of Yamana Gold rose 1.86 percent to C$11.52 while Agnico-Eagle rose 1 percent to C$72.41.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended almost unchanged at 11,394.96. The TSX ended the month up 4.8 percent and rose 9.8 percent for the quarter.
The flat close followed data released early in the day that showed Canada's economy stagnated in July, raising some doubts about whether gross domestic product would return to solid growth in the third quarter.
A Reuters poll released on Wednesday offered a median forecast that Canada's main stock index will finish 2009 with a gain of nearly 30 percent as its heavy weighting in commodity and energy stocks benefits from further signs of economic recovery.
($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Editing by Peter Galloway) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canadian company news ................................ Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)... FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: Canadian Equities speed guide...................... S&P/TSX Composite index ............................. S&P/TSE Venture composite index ..................... TSX most active....................................... Venture Exchange most active........................... Top TSX pct gainers................................... Top TSX pct losers.................................... S&P/TSX 60 index ..................................... 52 week highs: TSX............... Venture.............. 52 week lows: TSX............... Venture.............. Canadian dollar quote..................... FOR MAIN GLOBAL MARKET DATA AND MARKET REPORTS: FTSE EUROTOP 300 ..... EUROPEAN REPORT ....... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS (frank.pingue@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 416 941-8094; Reuters Messaging: frank.pingue.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
