By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, May 2 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed lower on Monday, after hitting a three-week high earlier in the day, as oil and gas issues erased gains and the death of Osama bin Laden cut some of gold's safe-haven premium.
The overall materials group, home to gold miners, was down
2.05 percent while the gold sub
index was off 2.69 percent.
Gold miners were hit hard as bullion prices fell from record highs as bin Laden's death eroded their safe-haven appeal. Goldcorp was the biggest heavyweight decliner, down 5.24 percent at C$50.12, followed by Barrick Gold , which fell 2.24 percent to C$47.24. Agnico Eagle gave back 3.84 percent to finish at C$63.39.
Energy stocks ended the day off 0.01 percent. They shadowed movements in oil prices, which seesawed through the session as investors weighed the impact of bin Laden's death on crude futures. One of the biggest movers, Imperial Oil , was down 1.14 percent at C$49.43.
'It looks like the market's not quite sure how to take the death of bin Laden,' said Laura Lau, senior portfolio manager at Sentry Select Capital Corp.
'Right off the bat oil was down, then it went up, and then it went down again, so they're not quite sure if it's good or bad. What we would expect is there probably will be some retaliation from terrorists for the deaths. Because of that, we can certainly expect added political risk,' she said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished the day down 10.28 points, or 0.07 percent at 13,934.51 after rising more than 1 percent to as high as 14,089.10, its strongest level since April 11. Eight of the index's 10 sectors finished higher.
'There's been some minor initial effects on markets ... but from there, it's more back to business, which is a heavy economic calendar this week. The markets are going to trade on that,' said Paul Taylor, chief investment officer at BMO Harris Private Banking, noting that the geopolitical influences on oil prices is unlikely to last.
'I think calmer heads will prevail and presumably the spec premium we're seeing in the price of oil will dissipate as we go forward.'
Financial stocks, which make up roughly a third of the index's weight, were up 0.81 percent.
The rise was led by Manulife Financial, which advanced 3 percent to C$17.50. Bank of Nova Scotia, was up 1.23 percent at C$58.40.
Monday was election day in Canada but voting was overshadowed by the bin Laden news. Toronto stocks had traded cautiously in the final week leading up to the vote, with analysts attributing some of the retreat to wariness inspired by the surge of the left-leaning New Democratic Party in public opinion polls.
The right-of-center Conservatives, who have governed since early 2006, started the campaign with a healthy lead in the polls, but that dwindled as the NDP pushed past the Liberals to take a strong second place.
'It's certainly most worrisome if the NDP were to become official opposition. We would certainly be concerned about increased spending and increased taxation,' said Lau, adding that energy stocks could be in focus because of the possibility of added environmental costs.
Any election-related movement is likely to be short-lived however, with analysts citing broader issues still driving the market.
'The Canadian market is going to trade on the strength of the U.S. economy and the strength of the conditions in the Far East and its impact on commodity prices -- none of which will be impacted by the Canadian election tonight,' said Taylor.
($1=$0.95 Canadian)
(Editing by Peter Galloway and Rob Wilson) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canada earnings schedule............................. 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..................................... Global markets report............................ Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ Keywords: MARKETS CANADA/STOCKS (solarina.ho@thomsonreuters.com;+1 416 941 8067; Reuters Messaging: solarina.ho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. 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, May 2 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed lower on Monday, after hitting a three-week high earlier in the day, as oil and gas issues erased gains and the death of Osama bin Laden cut some of gold's safe-haven premium.
The overall materials group, home to gold miners, was down
2.05 percent while the gold sub
index was off 2.69 percent.
Gold miners were hit hard as bullion prices fell from record highs as bin Laden's death eroded their safe-haven appeal. Goldcorp was the biggest heavyweight decliner, down 5.24 percent at C$50.12, followed by Barrick Gold , which fell 2.24 percent to C$47.24. Agnico Eagle gave back 3.84 percent to finish at C$63.39.
Energy stocks ended the day off 0.01 percent. They shadowed movements in oil prices, which seesawed through the session as investors weighed the impact of bin Laden's death on crude futures. One of the biggest movers, Imperial Oil , was down 1.14 percent at C$49.43.
'It looks like the market's not quite sure how to take the death of bin Laden,' said Laura Lau, senior portfolio manager at Sentry Select Capital Corp.
'Right off the bat oil was down, then it went up, and then it went down again, so they're not quite sure if it's good or bad. What we would expect is there probably will be some retaliation from terrorists for the deaths. Because of that, we can certainly expect added political risk,' she said.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished the day down 10.28 points, or 0.07 percent at 13,934.51 after rising more than 1 percent to as high as 14,089.10, its strongest level since April 11. Eight of the index's 10 sectors finished higher.
'There's been some minor initial effects on markets ... but from there, it's more back to business, which is a heavy economic calendar this week. The markets are going to trade on that,' said Paul Taylor, chief investment officer at BMO Harris Private Banking, noting that the geopolitical influences on oil prices is unlikely to last.
'I think calmer heads will prevail and presumably the spec premium we're seeing in the price of oil will dissipate as we go forward.'
Financial stocks, which make up roughly a third of the index's weight, were up 0.81 percent.
The rise was led by Manulife Financial, which advanced 3 percent to C$17.50. Bank of Nova Scotia, was up 1.23 percent at C$58.40.
Monday was election day in Canada but voting was overshadowed by the bin Laden news. Toronto stocks had traded cautiously in the final week leading up to the vote, with analysts attributing some of the retreat to wariness inspired by the surge of the left-leaning New Democratic Party in public opinion polls.
The right-of-center Conservatives, who have governed since early 2006, started the campaign with a healthy lead in the polls, but that dwindled as the NDP pushed past the Liberals to take a strong second place.
'It's certainly most worrisome if the NDP were to become official opposition. We would certainly be concerned about increased spending and increased taxation,' said Lau, adding that energy stocks could be in focus because of the possibility of added environmental costs.
Any election-related movement is likely to be short-lived however, with analysts citing broader issues still driving the market.
'The Canadian market is going to trade on the strength of the U.S. economy and the strength of the conditions in the Far East and its impact on commodity prices -- none of which will be impacted by the Canadian election tonight,' said Taylor.
($1=$0.95 Canadian)
(Editing by Peter Galloway and Rob Wilson) ============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Top News: Canada .................................... Today in Canada..................................... Canada earnings schedule............................. 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..................................... Global markets report............................ Foreign exchange...................................... Oil.................................................... US Treasuries.......................................... International bonds................................... Gold....................................... or CRB index of commodity futures........................ Keywords: MARKETS CANADA/STOCKS (solarina.ho@thomsonreuters.com;+1 416 941 8067; Reuters Messaging: solarina.ho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. 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.