Canadian stocks notched the sixth record in eight days, led by commodity producers such as Petro- Canada and Kinross Gold Corp., as crude oil prices climbed to the highest this year and gold completed a seven-week rally.
The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 25.55, or 0.2 percent, to 13,343.53 in Toronto. Measures of energy and material stocks account for more than two-fifths of the benchmark, which gained 0.2 percent for the week.
``The Canadian market is happy today -- oil's up, gold and copper, too,'' said Michael Sprung, president of Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel in Toronto. The market is ``very reactive to changes in commodity prices.''
Gains in the market today were limited as computer-related shares declined after U.S. technology companies BEA Systems and Intuit Inc. reported profits that missed analysts' estimates.
The gauges of energy and materials shares rose 0.5 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
Petro-Canada, the nation's third-biggest oil and gas producer, climbed 69 cents at 44.65. EnCana Corp., the nation's largest natural-gas producer, gained 41 cents at C$55.96.
Suncor Energy Inc., the second-biggest oil-sands miner, added 43 cents at C$85.43. It was added to Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s ``conviction buy list.''
Crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 1.4 percent to $61.80 a barrel in New York, the highest since Dec. 26, on speculation that U.S. fuel inventories will plunge in the weeks ahead as refineries shut for repairs. It closed at $60.93, up 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, in New York.
Kinross Gold
Kinross Gold Corp. gained 28 cents to C$16.28. Canada's third- biggest bullion producer this week reported a fourth-quarter profit, compared with a loss a year earlier. Analyst George Albino at Orion Securities raised his rating on Kinross to ``overweight'' from ``equalweight.''
Goldcorp Inc. rose 19 cents to C$32.99. The world's third- largest bullion producer by market value said gold production in 2007 will rise 54 percent to 2.6 million ounces, boosted by its $7.6 billion acquisition of Glamis Gold Ltd. in November.
Gold futures for April delivery climbed 0.5 percent to $686.70 an ounce in New York, after reaching $691.90, the highest since May 18. A rally in commodity prices spurred demand for precious metals as a hedge against inflation. The seventh weekly gain is the longest rally since gold rose to a 26-year high of $732 in May. Silver rose to the highest since May and copper touched the highest this year.
Record Profits
Pan American Silver Corp. climbed C$2.08, or 6.1 percent, to C$36.08, the second-best gain in the S&P/TSX. The silver producer this week said it had a record profit of $29.6 million the fourth- quarter. It was raised to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' by analyst Craig West at UBS AG in Toronto, who said in a note that the profit was better than expected, and that increased reserves and exploration made for a positive outlook in 2007.
FNX Mining Co. rose for a third straight day, adding 14 cents to C$20.54 and taking its weekly gain to 14 percent. The copper and nickel miner said in a statement that fourth-quarter net income surged to a record C$19.7 million, or 23 cents a share, from C$477,000, or 1 cent, on higher metals prices and lower production costs. Earlier this week the company announced positive drill results from its Levack mine in Ontario.
Today FNX was raised to ``overweight'' from ``equalweight'' by analyst Pierre Vaillancourt at Orion Securities.
`Astounding'
Mining companies' ``profitability is astounding,'' Sprung said. ``We're beginning to see some value for longer-term investors in energy stocks.''
A gauge of Canadian technology stocks slipped 0.2 percent.
Canadian computer-related stocks slid on investor disappointment about U.S. technology company earnings, after forecasts today from BEA Systems and Intuit Inc. trailed analysts' estimates. Intel Corp., the world's largest maker of computer chips, and Apple Inc., maker of iPod music players, have already disappointed investors with their results, while Microsoft Corp. has sought to lower expectations for sales of its new Windows Vista software.
Cognos Inc., Canada's biggest publicly traded maker of software, fell 60 cents, or 1.3 percent, to C$46.82. Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phones, fell for a third straight day, sliding 24 cents to C$162.39.
The following shares had unusual price changes. Stock symbols are in parentheses.
Astral Media Inc. (ACM/A CN) dropped C$1.76, or 3.9 percent, to C$42.86. The radio and television station operator may acquire Standard Broadcasting Corp., which owns 51 radio stations, the National Post reported, citing people it didn't name who are familiar with the situation. Standard Chief Executive Officer Gary Slaight and Astral spokesman Alain Bergeron declined to comment, the newspaper said.
Cascades Inc. (CAS CN) dropped 20 cents, or 1.4 percent, to C$13.80. The maker of cardboard packaging this week reported a fourth-quarter loss that narrowed to C$46 million from C$104 million. Excluding certain items the company earned 16 cents a share, missing the 21-cent average forecast of two analysts in a Bloomberg survey. It was cut to ``sell'' from ``buy'' by analyst Robert Duncan at MGI Securities.
source:www.bloomberg.com
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