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| Tuesday, 21 October 2008 18:18 |
 The entire work crew of the Modus manufacturing plant in Swift Current, SK gathers to celebrate the rolling out of the first of their Work Force Accommodation Units destined for Suncor’s Voyageur Upgrader Camp. TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was slightly higher Thursday morning as Canadian auto parts maker Magna International (TSX:MG.A) got the nod to pick up General Motors Corp.'s key European operations and an announcement from the Bank of Canada suggested economic growth could be stronger than it predicted in July. The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 67.7 points to 11,067.8 after moving down 105 points Wednesday, snapping a four-session winning streak on profit-taking in the financial sector and sliding gold stocks. The board of General Motors Corp. announced Thursday it will recommend that the automaker's Opel unit be sold to a consortium of Canadian auto parts giant Magna International Inc. (TSX:MG.A) and Russia's Sberbank, rejecting a bid from Belgian investment house RHJ International. Magna shares moved up $2.22 to $49.56. The Canadian dollar was down 0.11 of a cent to 92.4 cents US following the Bank of Canada's forecast, which came as it also announced it was leaving its key interest rate at 0.25 per cent. In July, the bank had projected the economy would rebound by 1.3 per cent in the current quarter and another three per cent in the final three months of the year. The central bank said economic performance could be even better because of stimulative monetary and fiscal policies, improved financial conditions, firmer commodity prices, and a rebound in business and consumer confidence which is supporting domestic demand growth in Canada. The Bank of Canada added that persistent strength in the Canadian dollar remains a risk to growth and to the return of inflation to its target. The currency has been above the 90-cent-US level since early August and the Bank of Canada has expressed concern that a strong dollar could hold up an economic recovery. The TSX Venture Exchange was ahead 0.7 of a point to 1,236.35. New York markets were weak despite a better than expected jobs report. The Dow Jones industrial average moved down 6.5 points to 9,540.7 as the Labour Department said that new jobless claims fell more than expected to 550,000 last week and total unemployment rolls dropped. Those continuing to receive benefits fell by 159,000 to nearly 6.1 million, the lowest level since early April. Analysts had expected new claims to drop to 560,000. The Nasdaq composite index moved 1.77 points to 2,062.16 while the S&P 500 index dipped 0.6 of a point to 1,032.75. The TSX energy sector was up 0.56 per cent as the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up a dime to US$71.41 a barrel. Suncor Inc. (TSX:SU) declined 51 cents to $35.28. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries confirmed early Thursday at its meeting in Vienna that it would keep crude output unchanged. Meanwhile in Paris, the International Energy Agency said the slump in global oil demand in 2009 would be less severe than previously forecast and predicted consumption would rise in 2010 as the world economy stabilizes. The December gold contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange continued to back away from the US$1,000 mark, falling $4.70 to US$992.40 an ounce. But the gold sector rose 1.27 per cent. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) gained 71 cents to $40.42. The base metals sector edged up 0.4 per cent as the December copper backed off five cents to US$2.87 a pound. The financial sector also helped maintain gains, up 0.5 per cent. Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) was up 40 cents to $44.27. In other economic news, Canadian merchandise imports and exports both increased in July as a result of broad-based growth in volumes. As a result, Canada registered a trade deficit of $1.4 billion in July compared with a trade surplus of $37 million in June. Higher exports of machinery and equipment and automotive products led the increase in overall exports. Declines in exports of energy products tempered the gain. The U.S. trade deficit shot up in July to the highest level in six months as a surge in shipments of foreign oil and autos pushed imports up by a record amount. The deficit rose 16.3 per cent to $32 billion in July, much larger than the $27.4 billion imbalance that economists had expected. In overseas trading, Asian stocks moved up following a Federal Reserve report that boosted hopes the U.S. economy is recovering steadily. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose two per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.1 per cent but Shanghai's index moved down 0.7 per cent. London's FTSE 100 index slipped 0.47 per cent after the Bank of England held interest rates steady at a record low of 0.5 per cent for the sixth consecutive month on Thursday and pledged to continue its program to boost the money supply despite gathering signs of an economic recovery. |
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