Canada's main stock market, the Toronto Stock Exchange,
recovered from a bad start that saw it open more than 30 points
lower than the previous close. Within 30 minutes of the start it
had settled and went on to make steady progress through the session
and end it up nearly 40 points at day high levels.
Many investors and traders went bargain hunting, while some
others took profits - taking advantage of the fact that some of
their counterparts sat on the sidelines due to uncertainty in the
markets relating to talk of the U.S. debt ceiling being raised. A
total of only around 186 million shares were traded on the TSX.
There were twice as many gainers as losers and a majority of
sectors saw gains.
The info tech sector was the biggest loser in percentage terms
on some profit taking in Research In Motion (RIM.TO) after a strong
run up Monday.
Easily most actively traded for the second straight day was
Uranium One Inc. (UUU.TO) - which has risen around $1 since
December 7, 2012. It saw another 17 million shares traded today,
adding to around 60 million shares traded Monday after it announced
that it has entered into a definitive agreement with JSC
Atomredmetzoloto and its affiliate, Effective Energy N.V.,
(collectively ARMZ) under which the company would be taken private
pursuant to a plan of arrangement. ARMZ and its affiliates
currently own 51.4% of the Uranium One common shares.
February futures - which expire tomorrow - fell 0.6% to settle
at $111.20 while the more active March contract eased 0.4% to
around $110.50 amid concerns about a possible debt default in the
United States. Also, economic data out earlier today showed the New
York Fed's Empire State Manufacturing Index contracted for a sixth
straight month.
Gold futures ended up 0.8% at $1,683.90 an ounce, as the
language in Fed Chairman Ben Bernake's latest speech dashed
expectations that the Central Bank will end quantitative easing
this year. Today, platinum futures surpassed gold in value for the
first time since March 2012. April platinum added 1.9%, to
$1,689.90 an ounce.