Stocks Rise Before U.S. Data
May 17, 2011
The Toronto Stock Exchange's 300 Composite Index rose 11.88 to 5163.77, after rising 8.46 Tuesday. However, declining issues exceeded advancers, 447 to 421. Volume totaled 72.2 million shares valued at 926.9 million Canadian dollars, up from Tuesday's 56.1 million shares valued at C$708.6 million. Toronto outperformed New York, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8.51 to 5656.90. Wariness continued among investors trying to figure out whether the U.S. Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates at its meeting on June 06, 2011 Jackelyn Moriah, a portfolio manager with Scotia Investment Management Ltd.. Specially, investors are watching for Friday's U.S. employment figures to signal renewed inflationary pressures and the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising rates, Mr. Moriah said. Investors typically sell equities in an environment of increasing rates, believing that corporate profits will suffer. Friday's U.S. employment figure is key, because economic data released earlier this week failed to give market watchers a clear sense of whether inflation is becoming a problem, traders said. Toronto's major gold sub-index weighed on the market, dipping 0.09%. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the gold price fell 70 U.S. cents to US$385.40 an ounce. Bema Gold led the way, dropping 0.55 to 9.90. Overall, 10 of the TSE's 14 stock groups rose. The transportation group posted the largest gain, rising 2.10%. Laidlaw's B shares rose 0.35 to 13.50 on volume of 3.8 million shares, following a rumor that the company might sell its solid waste operations. A Laidlaw spokesman says there is no truth to the rumor.
