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Monday, December 19, 2011

Toronto stock market december 19 2011

Toronto stock market december 19 2011 : The Toronto stock market opened higher Monday as oil and gold prices rose and traders digested positive economic news. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 25.01 points at 11,660.39. The junior Venture Exchange added 2.13 points to 1,428.24.

The Canadian dollar added 0.24 of a cent to 96.67 cents US, with gains accelerating after the release of statistics showing wholesale trade grew more than expected in October. Statistics Canada said wholesale sales increased 0.9 per cent to $49.2 billion in October, with the growth concentrated in the western provinces. Analysts had been expecting a smaller 0.1 per cent gain.

Wall Street also opened higher, with the Dow Jones up 46.7 points 11,913, the Nasdaq ahead 12.4 points at 2,567.73 and the broader S&P 500 up 4.7 points at 1,224.34.

And commodities were mostly higher, with the January oil contract up 85 cents to $94.38.

The February gold contract added US$5.70 to US$1,603.60 per ounce, while copper shed a penny to US$3.32 per pound.

Investors also weighed the potential consequences of the death of North Korea's absolute ruler, Kim Jong Il. The announcement, made Monday by North Korean state television, raises the spectre of more instability on the divided Korean peninsula.

Analysts warn Kim's death could cause an uncertain power transition and put the brakes on talks aimed at getting the secretive communist state to give up its nuclear weapons.

Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader's untested third son and heir-apparent, is expected to want to consolidate his power and dispel any notions of weakness.

But after Asian indexes closed lower, European stocks recovered, with Germany's DAX up 0.8 per cent Paris' CAC 40 index rose one per cent and Britain's FTSE lost 0.1 per cent.

Kim's death overshadowed what already was a gloomy start to the week after Fitch warned after the market close on Friday that it may downgrade the credit ratings of heavyweights Italy and Spain, as well as Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland and Slovenia.

EU finance ministers will discuss later Monday how much money their countries will lend to the International Monetary Fund in a conference call.

This week ushers in the Christmas holiday period, a time that in most years has seen little movement in markets amid sharply lower volumes until senior traders get back from vacation in early January.

The TSX lost 399 points or 3.31 per cent last week in a tug of war that has become all too familiar in 2011 with traders balancing bad news from Europe with economic data showing that the economic recovery in the United States is still on the rails.

Meanwhile, it's a light week for economic data heading into the four-day Christmas shutdown on the TSX.

On the domestic front, most attention will be paid to data showing how the economy performed in October. Statistics Canada is expected to report that gross domestic product likely was flat for the month following a 0.2 per cent rise in September.

Statistics Canada also reports the latest inflation data on Tuesday.

In domestic news, Eldorado Gold Corp. said Sunday it has struck a friendly $2.5 billion takeover bid for European Goldfields Ltd. (TSX: EGU), a Yukon-based gold miner with projects in Greece, Romania and Turkey. European Goldfields shares fell 1.4 per cent or 17 cents to $11.67.

Meanwhile, First Uranium Corp. (TSX:FIU) says it may have to trim 1,850 jobs at its Ezulwini mine in South Africa -- about half the workforce there -- in a move to improve profitability and cut operating costs. Shares gained 2.7 per cent or less than a penny to 18 cents. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

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