TSX FLAT AS OIL, GOLD, DOLLAR LOSE GROUND

TORONTO • The Toronto stock market ended flat on Tuesday as the price retreat by key commodities continued.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 5.25 points lower at 14,620.07 with both the gold and metals sectors lower. Over the past three sessions, the TSX has fallen more than 400 points.

The Canadian dollar slipped US0.51¢ to US87.77¢.

The energy sector made small gains, rising 0.4% even as the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed down US$2.12 at US$66.88 a barrel.

Mining and metals stocks fell 0.1%, as March copper lost US6.5¢ to US$2.892 a pound. February gold bullion moved down US$18.80 to close at US$1,199.20 an ounce.

“The volatility is still very high, which keeps a lot of traditional portfolio managers out of the complex for the time being,” said Sid Mokhtari, a market technician at CIBC World Markets in an interview

“You’re probably going to see some bargain hunting as you go into year-end, especially after the tax-loss selling season typically ends within the first two weeks of December.”

TSX financials slid 0.7% after Bank of Montreal kicked off the banks’ earnings season with fourth-quarter profits that were weaker than analysts expected.

The bank reported $1.07 billion of net income in the fourth quarter, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, it had $1.11 billion of earnings, or $1.63 per share, 5 ¢ below estimates.

Its main Canadian banking operations showed strong 14% growth but that was offset by declines at BMO’s capital markets and wealth segments. BMO shares lost $1.87 to $81.42.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record high, rising 102.75 points to 17,879.55, while Nasdaq lifted 28.46 points to 4,755.81. The S&P 500 index gained 13.11 points to 2,066.55.

General Motors Co. reported stronger U.S. sales last month, which provided a boost to the automaker’s stock, while shares of Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 13% to US$16.92 on Nasdaq after the company agreed to be acquired by Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical Group for US$3.5 billion in cash.

In the energy sector, TransCanada Corp. says it will halt all work on an oil terminal in eastern Quebec in response to concerns the project could hurt a beluga whale habitat. The Cacouna terminal was planned to be one of the last stops for the crude from the proposed Energy East pipeline before being loaded onto oil tankers and shipped overseas. TransCanada shares were up 90¢ at $55.10.

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada makes its next announcement on interest rates. Canada’s central bank is universally expected to leave its key rate unchanged at 1%, where it’s been for more than four years.

The Bank of England and European Central Bank make their rate announcements on Thursday.

The week ends with November job creation numbers from both Canada and the United States.

DJJON