Toronto stocks closed lower on Friday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as investors moved to lock in profits.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 30.84 points, or 0.2%, at 14,098.89. For the week, the benchmark index climbed 1.1% .
The index gained 1.4% in the third quarter, despite credit market turmoil in August.
On Friday, only two of the 10 TSX main sectors closed higher — health care and materials.
The gold mining subgroup was the big gainer, up 2% as the December bullion contract on the Nymex gained $10.10 to US$750 an ounce.
Barrick Gold gained 62¢, or 1.6%, at $39.95. Goldcorp rose 65¢, or 2.2%, at $30.40.
The heavyweight energy sector fell 0.2%, the information technology group was down 1.2%, and telecoms was off 0.6%.
U.S. crude dipped $1.22 to $81.66 a barrel as worries returned over a slowdown in the U.S. economy.
Suncor Energy was off $1.25, or 1.3%, at $94.46.
EnCana added 17¢, or 0.3%, to $61.50, despite issuing a warning that it will slash spending in Alberta by $1 billion if a panel’s recommendations to boost provincial royalties and taxes are adopted in full.
In the IT group, Research In Motion slipped $2.15, or 2.2%, to $97.75.
In the telecoms group, Telus tumbled 80¢, or 1.4%, to $57.50.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture exchange bucked the profit-taking trend, climbing 51.31 points, or 1.81%, to 2,883.56.
The Canadian dollar closed above parity with U.S. dollar for first time since November 1976, closing up two-thirds of a cent at US$1.0052.
The Bank of Canada intervened in financial markets Friday for the second day in row, buying $1.09-billion worth of securities to inject liquidity into markets and keep its interest rates down amid the global credit crunch.
The move followed a similar move Thursday where the central bank intervened to buy $985 million worth of securities.
In New York, stocks dipped as money managers locked in profits on the last trading day of a strong September,
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.31 points, or 0.12%, to end at 13,895.63. The S&P 500 declined 4.63 points, or 0.30%, to 1,526.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 8.09 points, or 0.30%, to 2,701.50.
For the week, the Dow gained 0.6%, the S&P inched up 0.1% and Nasdaq climbed 1.1%.
For the month, the Dow rose 4%, the S&P 500 gained 3.6% and the Nasdaq gained 4.1%.
For the third quarter, the Dow was up 3.6%, the S&P was up 1.6% and the Nasdaq was up 3.8%.
Toronto stocks dip on profit-taking
Loonie closes above U.S. greenback
- September 28, 2007 September 28, 2007
- 16:10