Canadian stocks slightly higher as gold futures climb

Canadian stocks slightly higher as gold futures climb

The Canadian stock markets were slightly higher on Monday as gold prices hike offset investors' concern about political turmoil in Europe.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 53.73 points, or 0.43 percent, at 12,461.98. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index slightly gained 11.91 points, or 0.72 percent, at 1,661.92.

Worries about Italy's finances drove the prices of gold futures up on Monday. After the yield on Italian 10-year bonds jumped another 0.33 of a percentage point to 6.58 percent, reaching its highest level since the euro zone was established in 1999 and closer to the seven percent threshold that forced Ireland and Portugal to accept bailout, the market has switched its focus to Italy.

Bullion prices have made strides amid traders' fears about Europe's debt crisis. Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. advanced 2.51 percent.

Since gold sector occupied roughly 13 percent of the broader index on the TSX, the rise in gold miners helped lift other related sectors on the markets. The industrials sector moved up 0. 57 percent.

The turmoil in Italy, one of Europe's biggest economies, extended the European debt crisis that has embraced the region as well as the global markets. If its cost of borrowing rises too much, the country wouldn't be able to raise the money it needs to roll over its debts, creating big problems for the European banking system.

Due to the deepening worries about the stability of Greece and Italy, four of the TSX's main sectors were down, with metals and mining stocks a significant drag.

The index measuring the diversified metals and mining sector on the TSX plunged 1.04 percent on Monday. The uranium miner Cameco shares dropped 6.52 percent after it said its third-quarter profits dropped seven percent.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar turned around an earlier loss against the U.S. dollar.

One U.S. dollar was buying 1.0126 Canadian dollars at 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) on Monday, compared with 1.0186 Canadian dollars on Friday.

Editor: Chen Zhi

English.news.cn   2011-11-08 08:02:03 FeedbackPrintRSS
TORONTO, Nov. 7 (Xinhua)