TORONTO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index dropped
after wild swings during early dealings on Wednesday, as investors took little
comfort from a surprise interest-rate cut by the Bank of Canada designed to calm
financial markets.
Within the first 30 minutes of the session, the index then swung more
than 200 points into positive territory as the two materials and financial
sectors, which account for nearly half the index weighting, posted strong gains.
By midmorning, the index was in negative territory.
Shortly after 11 a.m. (1500 GMT), the S&P/TSX composite index was down
164.11 points, or 1.67 percent, to 9,665.44. Eight of the index's main 10 groups
were lower.
The materials group, which includes miners and fertilizer shares, was the
main source of the index's strength, gaining 3.44 percent. Potash Corp of
Saskatchewan, the biggest net gainer, jumped 7.4 percent to C$104.05.
The gold subindex rose for a second session in a row, up 7.22 percent.
Agnico-Eagle rose 3.6 percent to C$52.18, while Goldcorp gained 6 percent to
C$30.55. Kinross rose 8.7 percent to C$16.58.
The financials group turned negative after initially charging higher,
with Manulife Financial off 5.4 percent at C$30.92.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Bank of Canada unexpectedly cut its key
interest rate by a half percentage point to 2.5 percent.
($1=$1.10 Canadian)
(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng) Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS
Ka Yan Ng
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