Toronto stocks opened lower on Monday as weaker gold and oil prices pulled down commodity shares.

Just after the open, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 23.10 points, or 0.2 percent, at 10,881.21.

However, by late morning, the benchmark index was up 27.72 points, or 0.25%, at 10,932.03.

U.S. markets were also higher Monday on reports that hurricane Rita appears to have caused less damage than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 68.06 points, or 0.65 percent, at 10,487.65. The S&P 500 was up 5.71 points, or 0.47 percent, at 1,221.00. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 11.60 points, or 0.55 percent, at 2,128.44.

Crude-oil prices fell 26¢ to US$63.93 a barrel early Monday, as markets sighed in relief that Rita narrowly missed crucial U.S. refineries zones in Texas. Relatively light damage was reported.

In a news conference Monday, U.S. President Bush said he is willing to tap strategic petroleum reserve to make up for shortages caused by Rita.

Rita caused an estimated US$2.5 billion to US$6 billion in insured damage, no worse than a third of the amount that hurricane Katrina is expected to cost the insurance industry.

In this morning’s economic news, the National Association of Realtors is due said U.S. existing rose 2% in August to annual rate of 7.29 million.

Economists had called for a moderate 0.8% decline in existing home sales last month to an annual rate of 7.1 million.

Hurricane Katrina did have an impact on sales, but NAR said it would not be able to quantify the effect for several months.

Later today Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan speaks at the American Bankers Association Annual Convention in Palm Desert, Calif.

The are no major economic data announcements from Statistics Canada.

The Canadian dollar opened at US85.38¢, unchanged. On Friday, the loonie had dropped 0.05 of a cent.

In business news, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has served it with another subpoena, seeking documents about transactions in Fairfax securities, the compensation for those sales, trading volumes and share prices.

Fairfax said Monday it is co-operating with the request.

QLT Inc. CEO Paul Hastings has stepped down, nearly a week after the drug company’s shares fell to their lowest level in seven years after disappointing test results for its lead drug Visudyne.

The companyh’s board announced Monday that Robert Butchofsky, QLT’s senior vp of marketing and sales, has been named acting CEO.


Overnight in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index soared 233.27 points, or 1.77%, to 13,392.63. The market was closed Friday for a national holiday.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 130.34 points, or 0.86%, to 15,274.31.

Toronto stocks finished higher Friday even as oil prices fell by more than US$2 a barrel.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 33.56 points at 10,904.31, held back by falling energy shares but boosted by higher mining and tech stocks.

The index lost 86.28 points last week.


U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Friday on news that Hurricane Rita weakened before it approached landfall, while a profit warning from Alcoa Inc, the world’s largest aluminum producer, dragged on blue-chip shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 2.46 points, or 0.02%, at 10,419.59. The S&P 500 index was up 0.67 of a point, or 0.06%, at 1,215.29. The technology-laced Nasdaq composite index rose 6.06 points, or 0.29%, to 2,116.84.

For the week, the Dow ended down 2%, the S&P fell 1.8% and the Nasdaq declined 2%.