Canadian Stocks Gain as RIM Advances, Gold Continues Rally
By Matt Walcoff
Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks rose for a third day as Research In Motion Ltd. gained after analysts recommended buying the BlackBerry phone maker and gold producers rallied as the precious metal surged to a record.
RIM added 2.4 percent after two researchers raised their ratings on the nation’s largest technology company. Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest bullion producer, increased 1.3 percent. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender, advanced 1.2 percent as financials contributed the most to the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index’s gain.
The S&P/TSX rose 101.91 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,349.88 as nine of the ten industries in the equity benchmark climbed.
“Concern about a falling U.S. dollar has forced capital that does not want to buy T-bills at zero rate of return into areas that are perceived as quality,” said Steven Conville, a portfolio manager at Blackmont Capital Inc. in Markham, Ontario. “One of them would be gold, and the other, I think, would be the Canadian financial services, which are seen as the best in the world.”
Raw-materials stocks, which make up 19 percent of Canadian stocks by market value, have helped propel the S&P/TSX to a 50 percent gain since March 9. Gold spot prices have surged 18 percent this year to an all-time high as the prospect of renew economic growth has made inflation return as an investor concern. Canadian banks have doubled since Feb. 23, attracting investment with trailing 12-month earnings that remain at 65 percent of their level from the beginning of the financial crisis.
Gold prices in New York rose for a second day, gaining 0.5 percent to $1,044.40 an ounce. James Sinclair, chief executive officer of Canada’s Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corp., told Bloomberg Radio gold may climb to $1,650 an ounce by early 2011 as ballooning U.S. debt drives down the American dollar.
Mining Companies
Barrick climbed 1.3 percent to C$41.77 in Toronto stock exchange trading. Goldcorp Inc., Canada’s second-largest gold producer, advanced 1.1 percent to C$44.71.
Canada’s six largest banks, which control 90 percent of the Canadian market by assets, each rose at least 0.9 percent. Royal Bank gained 1.2 percent to C$56.31, not including trading on alternative trading systems. Second-biggest bank Toronto- Dominion Bank increased 1.5 percent to C$65.80.
RIM gained 2.4 percent to C$71.50 after analysts at Jesup & Lamont and MKM Partners initiated coverage of the company with “buy” ratings. Kevin Dede of Jesup & Lamont told clients RIM is poised to take advantage of growth in 3G mobile networks and that the shares are less expensive than those of its rivals.
Crude oil for November delivery fell $1.31 to $69.57 a barrel after a U.S. Energy Department report showed that inventories of gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, increased as refineries bolstered operating rates.
Talisman Energy Inc. declined 1.4 percent to C$19.02. Analyst Rafi Khouri of Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced his rating on the oil and gas producer to “outperform” from “strong buy,” noting the stock’s 22 percent increase since June 22. EnCana Corp., the country’s largest natural-gas producer, decreased 0.7 percent to C$60.97.
Mining company Uranium One Inc. surged 15 percent, the most since June 9, to C$3.12. Rival BHP Billiton Ltd. halted output at a copper, uranium and gold mine in Australia where a mechanical failure damaged the main haulage system.
Gammon Gold Inc., which explores for the metal in Mexico, fell the most among S&P/TSX companies, losing 4.9 percent to C$9.42. The company said it will issue at least 11.2 million shares at $8.90 each. The stock was also cut to “reduce” from “hold” by Steven Green, an analyst at Toronto-Dominion Bank.
To contact the reporter on this story: Matt Walcoff in Toronto at mwalcoff1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 7, 2009 16:51 EDT
