Oils lift Toronto stocks to slight gain but New York falls

EnCana, Petrocan end the day higher Loblaw, Weston weigh on index

Toronto stocks edged higher but pulled back from their intraday highs because of late-session profit taking. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 3.54 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 11,008.78. New York had a tougher session, hurt by higher energy prices and concerns over rising interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.50 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 10,835.01. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index finished down 0.24 per cent, or 2.99 points, at 1,262.09. The tech- heavy Nasdaq composite index declined 0.69 per cent, or 15.73 points, to 2,257.64. The Toronto market “fared reasonably well,” given the weakness in New York, said Fred Ketchen, managing director of stock trading at Scotia Capital.

In Toronto, only the energy group posted a meaningful gain, trading up 1.08 per cent. Oil traded above $60 ( U. S.) a barrel during the day, but suffered from some profit-taking after the price failed to break through a key resistance level.

“Basically, it’s the oil shares that led the charge,” said John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd. “ But as we get close to Christmas, people’s minds turn to other things, so usually after the middle of the month things get quiet.” EnCana rose $ 1.13 to $ 55.74, and Petro- Canada finished up 40 cents at $ 46.74. Only four of the TSX’s 10 stock groups rose with the relatively small utilities group rising 0.47 per cent for the next biggest gain.

TransAlta Corp., a power generation company, rose 33 cents to $ 25.42. The information technology group fell 1.70 per cent. Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry wireless email device, fell $ 1.48 to $ 73.08 as the stock continued to ease from a strong gain Thursday.

Elsewhere in the group, Nortel Networks closed down 12 cents at $ 3.42 and Cognos, a software developer that issued a profitwarning late last week, fell 45 cents to $ 38.74. The consumer staples group posted the next biggest decline, trading down 1.06 per cent as comments last week from executives at Loblaw about soft sales in the fourth quarter continued to weigh on the group. Loblaw fell $ 1.80 to $ 58.00 and George Weston, Loblaw’s major shareholder, dropped $ 2.25 to $ 88.25.

Sears Canada rose $2.20 to $36.35, while Hudson’s Bay, which is the subject of a hostile takeover bid, rose 29 cents to $ 15.40.

Lions Gate, a film distributor, fell $ 1.33 to $ 9.50 after issuing an earnings warning. The Royal Bank of Canada ended unchanged at $ 88.50 after Blackmont cut its rating on the stock to hold from buy. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell 10 cents to $ 75.80, but the Bank of Nova Scotia gained 28 cents to $ 45.53.

Nickel mining company Inco rose 39 cents to $ 52.61 and aluminum producer Alcan ended down 45 cents at $ 46.25. Advances exceeded declines 830 to 664 and trading volume was 305.5 million shares, up from Friday’s 291.1 million shares. The S& P/ TSX 60 index dipped 0.33 point, or 0.05 per cent, to 621.76.