TORONTO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell
on Thursday, hurt by weakening oil prices and by gold producers
that failed to find support even though gold prices turned
higher.
Miners Goldcorp and Barrick Gold were among some of the index's top overall decliners, unable to benefit from a move higher in the gold price after the U.S. futures regulator said it would review possible position limits on gold and silver.
Goldcorp sagged 2.44 percent to C$41.51, while Barrick fell 1.36 percent C$41.38.
Oil prices fell for a fourth straight session as weak U.S. economic signals and high inventories spurred fears of a sluggish rebound in demand in the world's largest energy consumer. Also hurting prices was a proposal by the U.S. regulator to limit how many energy contracts hedge funds, investment banks and other speculators can control.
EnCana dropped 1.43 percent to C$35.80, while Nexen lost 3.1 percent to C$23.88.
'Commodities are the ones dragging us down but I don't think it's anything serious. We've had a nice pop from the beginning of the year,' said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 49.18 points, or 0.41 percent, at 11,804.38. Half of the index's 10 main groups were in the red, including the commodity-linked sectors.
The energy group and the mining-heavy materials group are heavyweight sectors of the S&P/TSX composite, making up nearly half of its weighting, and they regularly set the index's direction.
Nakamoto said the index's course in the next several weeks would likely be determined by upcoming waves of earnings reports.
Technology shares were among winners on Thursday, rising ahead of quarterly results from bellwether chipmaker Intel that came in well ahead of expectations after the market close.
The S&P/TSX composite's infotech group gained 1.5 percent, leading sectors that advanced on Thursday. Shares of Research In Motion rose 1.1 percent to C$68.12 to top overall gainers for a second straight session.
Canadian corporate results are slowly trickling in, though the majority won't be in for another couple of weeks. Shaw Communications Inc dipped 0.19 percent to C$20.66 after it reported mixed first-quarter results and provided disappointingly scant details of its wireless plans.
Astral Media Inc rose 0.43 percent to C$34.85 after reporting a sharp rise in earnings.
($1=$1.02 Canadian)
(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; 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 (kayan.ng@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: kayan.ng.reuters.com@reuters.net;416-941-8109) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. 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.
Miners Goldcorp and Barrick Gold were among some of the index's top overall decliners, unable to benefit from a move higher in the gold price after the U.S. futures regulator said it would review possible position limits on gold and silver.
Goldcorp sagged 2.44 percent to C$41.51, while Barrick fell 1.36 percent C$41.38.
Oil prices fell for a fourth straight session as weak U.S. economic signals and high inventories spurred fears of a sluggish rebound in demand in the world's largest energy consumer. Also hurting prices was a proposal by the U.S. regulator to limit how many energy contracts hedge funds, investment banks and other speculators can control.
EnCana dropped 1.43 percent to C$35.80, while Nexen lost 3.1 percent to C$23.88.
'Commodities are the ones dragging us down but I don't think it's anything serious. We've had a nice pop from the beginning of the year,' said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 49.18 points, or 0.41 percent, at 11,804.38. Half of the index's 10 main groups were in the red, including the commodity-linked sectors.
The energy group and the mining-heavy materials group are heavyweight sectors of the S&P/TSX composite, making up nearly half of its weighting, and they regularly set the index's direction.
Nakamoto said the index's course in the next several weeks would likely be determined by upcoming waves of earnings reports.
Technology shares were among winners on Thursday, rising ahead of quarterly results from bellwether chipmaker Intel that came in well ahead of expectations after the market close.
The S&P/TSX composite's infotech group gained 1.5 percent, leading sectors that advanced on Thursday. Shares of Research In Motion rose 1.1 percent to C$68.12 to top overall gainers for a second straight session.
Canadian corporate results are slowly trickling in, though the majority won't be in for another couple of weeks. Shaw Communications Inc dipped 0.19 percent to C$20.66 after it reported mixed first-quarter results and provided disappointingly scant details of its wireless plans.
Astral Media Inc rose 0.43 percent to C$34.85 after reporting a sharp rise in earnings.
($1=$1.02 Canadian)
(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; 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 (kayan.ng@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: kayan.ng.reuters.com@reuters.net;416-941-8109) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. 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.