Canadian banks lead minor TSE surge

U.S. markets were especially
stagnant in advance of tomorrow’s
jobs report. That report could
influence the U.S. Federal
Reserve’s decision next month on
whether to raise interest
rates.

Now that the Fed has announced a
bias toward tightening, the
constituent economic reports on
which they base their decisions
are bound to cause volatility.
In this case, investors remain
worried that a rise in wage
pressures will trigger a third
rate hike from the Fed.

Still, most of the subindexes
in Canada edged higher today, with
the financial sector leading the
way. The TSE closed up 37.95 to
7,063.46 on the strength of TD,
which was trading 30 cents higher.
The Bank of Nova Scotia was
up about 35 cents in late day
trading. The Bank of Canada said
little about raising interest
rates here, which always bodes
well for the financial stocks.

One sector that lagged in
Canada today was the precious
minerals group. The price of gold
was down US$2 to $324 in New York
at midday. Consequently,
Barrick Gold Corp. has
dropped C$3 to $31.35.
Placer Dome Inc. was down
C$0.75 to $23.45 at one point.

US rate worries held the Dow
back. It dropped 51.29 to
10,537.05. Nasdaq inched ahead
on the strength of Internet
issues, closing 3.52 higher to
2,860.73. The S&P slipped by
0.6%. Net stocks were caught in a
wave of excitement over
Yahoo! Inc.’s earnings
announcement. The company said
it will earn US14 ¢ a share in
the third quarter, bettering
expectations of 9¢. The stock
gained more than $14 today,
closing at $190.25.
The Amex index, the crucible for
net stocks, was up 3.13% at the
end of the day.

New York Stock Exchange
decliners outdid advancers by
17:12. On Nasdaq it was more
even, 20:19 for decliners.