Market closes for Friday, Aug. 22, 2008:

 

        Close   Change  YTD    
Dow Jones       11,627.00       +196.79 or +1.72%       -12.35%
S&P 500 1,292.20        +14.48 or +1.13%        -12.00%
NASDAQ  2,414.71        +34.33 or +1.44%        -8.96% 
TSX COMP        13,447.29       -91.93 or -0.68%        -2.79% 
TSX VENT        1951.63   +1.95
BoC Close       Today   Previous       
Canadian $      0.9537  0.9579 
US $    1.0486  1.0440 

Euro Spot Rate  Today   Previous       
Canadian $      0.6455  0.6432 
Euro    1.5491  1.5547 

Gold    AM      PM     
London Gold Fix (US)    $830.00 $824.00

Spot Crude Oil Future(US$)      $114.77 -$6.41 or -5.29%       

Silver               13.48     -0.25

Copper              3.46     -0.08

Nat Gas             7.84      -0.41

News Summary:

The Toronto stock market closed lower Friday as commodity stocks retreated, particularly in the energy sector, after two days of strong gains.

The oil and gas stocks were the biggest decliners as crude oil pulled back from Thursday's big runup.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index moved down 91.93 points to 13,447.29 after a burst of higher oil prices helped send the main index up almost 500 points in the previous two sessions.

"What has really led a lot of this is the commodity prices having a bit of a bounce -- and we have had a pretty serious correction in those prices," observed Julie Brough, vice president at Morgan, Meighen and Associates. "You do tend to get a bounce off the bottom of those -- and that's what we're seeing."

The Toronto market had a rare positive week, gaining 350.59 points or 2.67% on rising mining and energy stocks. It was only the second positive week in the past nine weeks.

The TSX Venture Exchange added 1.95 points to 1,951.63, while the Canadian dollar was off 0.42 cent to 95.37 cents U.S.

The drop in crude, combined with hopes that investment bank Lehman Brothers will be sold, helped send New York markets higher.

New York's Dow Jones industrial average gained 197.85 points to 11,628.06. The Nasdaq composite index moved up 34.33 points to 2,414.71 while the S&P 500 index rose 14.48 points to 1,292.2.

Investors were focused on the financial sector after the Globe and Mail cited a Royal Bank of Canada memo to brokers that it is in settlement talks with U.S. regulators over its role in the troubled market for auction-rate securities.

The market for these securities, whose rates were reset at periodic auctions, collapsed in February.
New York Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo has already forced seven other banks to buy back almost $50-billion worth of auction-rate securities from small investors and pay $360-million in fines. Royal shares were ahead 72 cents to $46.

Also, CI Financial Income Fund confirmed it has had discussions with a number of parties concerning possible strategic combinations. Its shares ran ahead $1.14 to $22.11

Overall, the TSX financial sector rose 1.35% as investors brace for the big banks to deliver quarterly earnings reports next week. Other advancers included CIBC, ahead 95 cents to $59.38.

Elsewhere in the financial sector, investors were digesting a media report that Korea Development Bank is considering buying investment bank Lehman Brothers. Its shares gained 69 cents $ to US$14.41.

"If JPMorgan can get Bear Stearns for US$10 (a share), who says (the Korean bank) can't get Lehman Brothers at a crazy discount?" Brough said.

The Toronto energy sector fell 2.35% as the price of oil surrendered all of Thursday's US$5.62 advance on a weak U.S. dollar. The greenback revived Friday and the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down $6.59 to US$114.59 a barrel.

The gold sector moved down 3% as the December bullion contract in New York declined $5.50 to US$833.50. The base metals sector declined 1% as HudBay Minerals shrank 29 cents to $11.11.

In other corporate news, Russian conglomerate OAO Severstal plans to acquire a US$1.3-billion Pennsylvania coal business through a transaction that involves the purchase of a Canadian-listed corporation.

Severstal Resources is offering C$8.30 per share for Penfold Capital Acquisition Corp., in order to acquire PBS Coals Corp, a private company registered in British Columbia which mines metallurgical and thermal coal in Pennsylvania. Penfold hasn't traded since May 14 and its stock is worth 21 cents.

On the TSX, declines beat advances 787 to 636 with 253 unchanged as 273 million shares traded worth $4.5 billion. (THE CANADIAN PRESS

 

TSX
Most Active

 

                                               
SCP     Sprott Resource Corp    3.43    -0.02   -0.58%  10,061,465     
ELR     Eastern Platinum Ltd    1.58    -0.03   -1.86%  8,139,348      
LUN     Lundin Mining Corp      5.26    -0.06   -1.13%  6,549,596      
YRI     Yamana Gold Inc 11.37   -0.63   -5.25%  5,589,201      
TIM     Timminco Ltd    15.90   +0.91   +6.07%  3,794,875      
BCE      BCE Inc        39.89   -0.01   -0.03%  3,778,224      
NXY     Nexen Inc       33.04   -0.28   -0.84%  3,509,613      
G       Goldcorp Inc    35.08   -1.43   -3.92%  3,308,507      
BBD.B   Bombardier Inc  7.65    +0.13   +1.73%  3,224,669      
S       Sherritt International Corp     9.54    -0.15   -1.55%  3,210,564      
TLM     Talisman Energy Inc     18.42   -0.79   -4.11%  3,157,144      
ACU     African Cooper PLC      0.20    +0.01   +2.56%  2,891,000      
K       Kinross Gold Corp       17.38   -0.66   -3.66%  2,861,902      
ABX     Barrick Gold Corp       36.31   -1.19   -3.17%  2,823,072      
KRY     Crystallex International Corp   1.20    -0.02   -1.64%  2,809,785      

TSX Venture
Most Active

 

                                               
SWN     Selwyn Resources Ltd    0.13    0.00    0.00%   2,965,124      
GAP     PharmaGap Inc   0.15    +0.03   +25.00%         2,753,700      
SPQ     Spider Resources Inc    0.08    +0.01   +15.38%         1,292,500      
MAA     MagIndustries Corp      2.02    -0.07   -3.35%  1,149,320      
PBR     Probe Resources Ltd     0.74    +0.12   +19.35%         1,125,125      
KWG     KWG Resources Inc       0.04    0.00    0.00%   1,101,000      
ANM      Antares Minerals Inc   2.30    +0.04   +1.77%  1,096,820      
PXX     Pearl Exploration and Production Ltd    1.69    -0.01   -0.59%  940,941        
CEN     Coastal Energy Company  3.00    0.00    0.00%   906,300        
NAG     North American Gem Inc  0.18    0.00    0.00%   904,500        
SYA     Syscan International Inc        0.04    +0.02   +100.00%        757,000        
VGN     Greencastle Resources Ltd       0.37    +0.04   +10.61%         713,200        
ZPP     Zongshen PEM Power Systems Inc  1.17    +0.11   +10.38%         640,750        
PDE     Palo Duro Energy Inc    0.12    -0.01   -4.00%  590,500        
PCQ     Petrolympic Ltd 0.41    -0.04   -8.89%  553,100

Trading Halts/Resumptions:

 

Trade Resumption - COUNTERPATH CORPORATION - CCV
Trading Halt/Trade Resumption - Coro Mining Corp. - COP
Trade Resumption - La Imperial Resources Inc. - LAMP
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - CIX Split Corp. - CXC & CXC.PR.A
Trading Halt /Trade Resumption - CI Financial Income Fund - CIX.UN

 

Sources include Advisors.ca, tmxmoney.com, Canadian Press, Yahoo Finance,
Stockhouse.com , Canoe.ca