Roundup: Canadian stock market inches lower on resources retreat
Xinhua, May 26, 2015 Adjust font size:
Canada's stocks in Toronto Monday ended modestly lower as the weakness in resources shares weighed on the market sentiment.
Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed lower 13.36 points, or 0.09 percent, to 15,187.40 points, with a thin trading volume.
Energy as well as metals and mining, the major resources sectors in TSX, were down 0.56 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively. Light, sweet crude for July delivery moved lower 1 U. S. dollar to settle at 59.72 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.
Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's biggest oil and gas producer, dropped 0.43 percent to 36.95 Canadian dollars (about 30 U.S. dollars), and the basic metals giant Teck Resources also lowered 0. 71 percent to 15.43 Canadian dollars per share.
However, the world's biggest gold producer Barrick Gold edged up 0.07 percent to 15.12 Canadian dollars after it inked a deal on Sunday to sell its Cowal mine in Australia to Evolution Mining for 550 million U.S. dollars.
Another loser Info Tech dipped 0.13 percent when the smart phone maker Blackberry inched down 0.47 percent to 12.82 Canadian dollars.
Financials, the most heavily weighed sector, was up 0.04 percent ahead of the release of big banks'quarterly earnings reports this week. Toronto-Dominion Bank added 0.37 percent to 56. 39 Canadian dollars.
Telecom post 0.44 percent gain when the communications giant BCE Inc. was higher 0.61 percent to 54.09 Canadian dollars.
Monday also witnessed mixed performances of real estate shares, as a new report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canada's housing authority, said on Monday that lower oil prices are contributing to disparities between provincial housing markets. A slowdown in housing starts and resale transactions in oil- producing provinces such as Alberta will be partly offset by increased housing market activity in other provinces, such as Ontario and British Columbia.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. gained 0.97 percent to 44.55 Canadian dollars, but Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust lost 0. 34 percent to 43.59 Canadian dollars.
On the currency front, the Canadian dollar on Monday moved lower to 0.8121 U.S. dollar, compared with 0.8129 U.S. dollar on last Friday. Endite