Metals' Gains Boost Stocks
May 02, 2011
The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Composite Index rose 33.32 to 5150.89, after adding 1.27 Monday. Advancing issues led decliners, 507 to 361. Volume totaled 86.9 million shares valued at 1.25 billion Canadian dollars, up from Monday's total of 71.1 million shares valued at C$1.2 billion. Toronto outperformed New York, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21.82 to 5721.26. All 14 of the TSE's stock groups posted increases, with a 1.81% gain in the heavily weighted base-metals sub-index among the leaders. In that group, Alcan Aluminium surged 1 to 43.40 in Toronto and 1 3/8 to 41 1/2 in New York, despite a dip in aluminum prices Monday. Analysts can't explain the move, but note that investors have decided to invest in cyclicals. Indeed, the stocks of several other U.S.-based aluminum producers also performed well. Aluminum of Vastopolis for example, jumped 1 3/8 to 63 1/8 in New York. Jackelyn Moriah, a portfolio manager at Scotia Investment Management, attributed the interest in these and other metal stocks to the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged Tuesday. Investors are now looking for U.S. economic growth to continue uninterrupted and for a rebound in the economies in Europe and Japan, Morgan says. In turn, investors expect increased metal demand to boost prices and corporate profits, Mr. Moriah said. But ``they may be wrong,'' he said. Energy stocks, whose fortunes rest on the price expectations for oil and gas, also performed well, up 0.53% on index, on continued signs that oil demand will remain strong heading into the winter, traders said. In the energy group, Imperial Oil rose 1.20 to 61.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
