Stocks Fall Behind New York
March 28, 2011
The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Composite Index fell 34.73 to 4920.59, after falling 86.12 on Monday. Declining issues outpaced advancers, 669 to 244. Total volume was 82.1 million shares valued at $1.39 billion Canadian, up from Monday's 60.3 million shares valued at C$892.4 million. But Toronto looked almost tranquil compared with the wild swings in New York, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 9.25 at 5358.76, after gyrating between a low of 5182.32 and a high of 5402.04. In Toronto, thin trading due a lack of available buyers helped to make sure the recovery in the TSE's benchmark fell well short of the Dow, traders said. With a lot of fund managers sitting on the sidelines in anticipation of a further correction in the market, sellers had to settle for sharper declines in prices than would otherwise be the case, said Gregorio Cammack, research director at Griffiths McBurney & Partners. Mr. Cammack also said the lack of buyers indicated that fund managers will return to the market in the near term, as the correction shows signs of weakening. Indeed, Tuesday's partial retracement in the TSE's key benchmark lends support to this view. Overall, 12 of the TSE's 14 subgroups fell, with the gold group leading the way, down 2.68%. In the group, Barrick Gold fell 1 to 36. The steep decline among gold stocks isn't that surprising, since the June Consumer Price Index in the U.S. came in slightly below expectations Tuesday morning, quelling fears of rising inflation. Gold stocks traditionally rise amid concerns over higher prices, because bullion is seen as a hedge against inflation.
