Gold miners lift TSX to near 11,000

EXXON UPGRADE CARRIES DOWHIGHER

High-flying gold mining issues helped Toronto stocks close near the 11,000 mark yesterday, as the bullion price climbed to its loftiest level in 17 years.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX composite index closed up 24.27 points, or 0.2%, at 10,990.59. On the week, the index was up 0.8%. The blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 index rose 1.06 points, or 0.2%, to 615.37, up 0.7% on the week.

Three of the TSX’s 10 main groups gained ground with materials issues up 1.2% on the back of the gold mining sub-group, which rose 2.6%.

“Golds were up. Everyone is getting on the band wagon,” said Bruce Mowat, an investment advisor with Caldwell Securities Ltd. “ A lot of people think ( the gold price) is going substantially higher.”

Gold futures for December settled at a 17-year high of $463.30, as jitters over inflation in the U.S. economy spurred a buying spree. Barrick Gold Corp. ( ABX/TSX) rose 96¢ or 3%, to $34.24.

The materials group also benefited from news in the base metals sector. Inco Ltd. ( N/TSX) climbed 65¢, or 1.3%, to $51.18 after it said workers at its Thompson, Man., nickel operations agreed to a new three-year labour pact, averting a strike.

U.S. stocks ended higher yesterday after an upgrade of Exxon Mobil Corp. helped lift the Dow, while a drop in oil prices cushioned the blow of a monthly indicator showing consumer sentiment at its lowest level in 13 years.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank raised its rating on Dow-component Exxon Mobil to “buy” from “hold,” saying oil supplies are likely to remain tight over the coming year.

Exxon Mobil shares ( XOM/NYSE)

climbed 2% to US$63.70. Other oil shares gained on Exxon’s upgrade. Chevron Corp. (CVX/NYSE) rose 1.5% to US$63.38 and ConocoPhillips (COP/NYSE) added 2.4% to close at US$69.15.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 83.19 points, or 0.8%, at 10,641.94. The S&P 500 closed 10.18 points higher, or 0.8%, at 1237.91. The technology-laced Nasdaq composite index rose 14.20 points, or 0.7%, to 2160.35.

For the week, all three indexes ended lower with the Dow down 0.3%, the S&P down 0.3% and the Nasdaq down 0.7%.

Retail stocks traded lower following a sharp decline in U.S. consumer confidence. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to a 13-year low of 76.9 in early September from 89.1 in August, far below Wall Street forecasts.

Reuters