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Toronto Market Outpaces New York with Hefty Gains by Banks and Mines

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Toronto stock market enjoyed a remarkable day, outperforming the New York market by a significant margin. The Toronto Stock Exchange's 300-stock composite index surged 25.06 points to 4,525.67, building on gains from the previous two days. This rally has been driven by the mining and banking sectors, with the latter posting a 1.49-per-cent rise in bank stocks.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Toronto Stock Exchange's 300-stock composite index jumped 25.06 points to 4,525.67, marking a continuation of the rally that began last Friday and strengthened this week.
  • Banks and mines were the main drivers of the market's gains, with miners posting a 2.33-per-cent increase, led by Alcan Aluminium and Inco.
  • The price of copper touched a seven-month high on the London Metal Exchange, while aluminum is now trading at slightly below 60 cents (U.S.) a pound.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index in New York climbed 2.41 points to 469.42, with advancing issues outperforming declines 1,346 to 803.
  • The Dow Jones industrial average declined 1.44 points to 3,848.15 under the weight of program selling in the closing minutes of the session.
  • Fred Ketchen, head of the equity trading department at ScotiaMcLeod Inc., believes that the Toronto market is poised for further gains, predicting that the 300-stock composite index could reach 4,600 before too long.
  • Orvana Minerals' shares dropped 25 cents to $7.50 after the company announced that Placer Dome would be withdrawing from the Thimble Mountain and Eholt joint ventures in British Columbia.
  • Gold Reserve fell 25 cents to $12.12, considering increasing ownership of the Brisas concession in Venezuela to 100 per cent from 91 per cent, and reported a loss of $2.8-million last year.

Statistics:

  • The Toronto Stock Exchange's 300-stock composite index surged 25.06 points to 4,525.67.
  • The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index in New York climbed 2.41 points to 469.42.
  • The Dow Jones industrial average declined 1.44 points to 3,848.15.
  • The price of copper touched a seven-month high on the London Metal Exchange.
  • Aluminum is now trading at slightly below 60 cents (U.S.) a pound.
  • Bank stocks rose 1.49 per cent, with Royal Bank jumping 75 cents (Canadian) to $29.87, and Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce adding 50 cents to $29 and $35, respectively.

Sources:

  • [The Globe and Mail, "Toronto market outpaces New York with hefty gains by banks and mines"]
  • [New York Stock Exchange, "Composite Index"]
  • [London Metal Exchange, "Price of Copper"]
  • [Richardson Greenshields of Canada Ltd., "Metals analyst Raymond Goldie"]
  • [ScotiaMcLeod Inc., "Head of equity trading department Fred Ketchen"]
  • [Orvana Minerals, "Company announcement"]
  • [Gold Reserve, "Company announcement"]

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