Gold, Blackberry lift toronto market
TORONTO • The Toronto stock market ended higher Monday as the gold and materials sectors gained traction and shares of BlackBerry Ltd. rose nearly 11% on news that the smartphone maker has launched a strategic alternatives plan.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 52.14 points to 12,594.27. The Canadian dollar was off US0.08¢ to US97.06¢.
Shares of BlackBerry rose $1.08 to $11.13 as the struggling Waterloo, Ont.-based company said it’s weighing its options and has brought in a committee to assess strategic alternatives, which could include its sale or entering into a joint venture. The stock hit an intraday high of $11.25, which is still well below its 52-week record of $18.49.
BlackBerry’s strategic review will be headed by Timothy Dattels, who joined BlackBerry’s board last year and is a senior partner at TPG Capital, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms.
The announcement comes amid unconfirmed reports that the company may go private — a move that could result in one or more investors buying out other shareholders and delisting the stock.
Meanwhile, the gold sector on the TSX was the highest advancer, rising 5.35%, as gold prices continued to climb on gains from last week. The December bullion contract rose US$21.80 to US$1,334.70 an ounce.
The materials sector also saw a notable lift, going up 4.23%. Metals and mining was up 2.53% as September copper was up US3¢ at US$3.30 a pound. The energy sector slid 0.42% as the September crude con- tract on the New York Mercantile Exchange saw an uptick of US14¢ to US$106.11 a barrel.
South of the border, U.S. indexes were mixed as the Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.83 points to 15,419.68 and the S&P 500 index was 1.95 points lower at 1,689.47. Nasdaq climbed 9.84 points to 3,669.95, boosted by a rise in Apple Inc. shares after a blog reported the tech company will release its latest iPhone in September.
The U.S. Treasury Department reported that it registered a US$97.6-billion deficit for July but said it still remains on track to post its lowest annual budget gap in five years.
July’s figure raises the deficit for the 2013 budget year to US$607.4-billion so far — 37.6$% below the US$973.8-billion deficit for the first 10 months of the 2012 budget year.
The government said steady economic growth, higher taxes, lower government spending and increased dividends from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have helped shrink the deficit.
Craig Fehr, a Canadian market strategist with Edward Jones in St. Louis, Mo., said the release of major economic news is winding down for the rest of the summer.
“We’re right in the middle of the dog days of summer,” said Mr. Fehr. “Everyone kind of returns from holidays in September to resharpen their pencils. As we look at the markets this week, and more importantly not just this week, volatility is likely to start picking back up.”
Mr. Fehr said investors will likely take a wait-and-see attitude to what will come in September, particularly if the Fed decides to move on tapering its $85-billion-amonth bond-buyback program.