A strong runup in gold stocks helped send the Toronto stock market modestly higher Monday as investors nervous about the debt impasse in Washington pushed bullion prices higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved higher 29.60 to end the day at 12,788.25
The Canadian dollar slid 0.15 cents to 96.97 cents U.S.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the gold sector was the leading advancer, as investors looking for safety pushed December bullion ahead.
Allied Nevada Gold surged $1.09, or 27.8%, to $5.00 after the miner reported record gold production and sales in the third quarter. Its Hycroft mine turned out 52,198 ounces of gold.
Rio Alto Mining shot up eight cents, or 4.4%, to $1.89 as it reported a record 59,157 ounces of gold production in the third quarter.
The tech sector was also supportive as shares in BlackBerry were up 32 cents, or 4.1%, to $8.20 on the TSX. Reuters reported Friday that the smartphone maker is in talks with Cisco Systems, Google and SAP about a possible sale.
The report came almost two weeks after BlackBerry's biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings, offered to take the company private in a deal worth about $4.7 billion.
The energy sector was ahead as worries about the economic fallout of the shutdown and reaching the debt ceiling pushed the November contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down. Talisman Energy gained 60 cents, or 4.8%, to $13.15.
The base metals sector lost ground even as copper prices erased earlier losses to close unchanged at $3.30 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources shed 53 cents to $27.33.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said municipalities issued building permits worth $6.3 billion in August, down 21.2% from July. This decline followed a 21.4% increase the previous month and was the result of lower construction intentions in both non-residential and residential sectors. Market call was for a reading of negative 7.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 7.84 points to close at 947.52
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups ended the day higher, with gold shining brightest, growing 2.1%, while materials advanced 0.8%, and information technology clicked 0.7% better.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by metals and mining, fading 1.2%, while global base metals were down 1% and health-care stocks dipped 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The debt ceiling deadlock is finally starting to work its way into investors’ nervous systems.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 136.34 points to end Monday at 14,936.20
The S&P 500 index lost 14.38 points to 1,676.12. The NASDAQ subtracted 37.38 points to 3,770.38.
The first corporate results for the third quarter come out Tuesday, when aluminum maker Alcoa reports after the market close.
Two of the biggest banks -- Dow component JPMorgan Chase andWells Fargo report Friday morning. Bank stocks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, dropped roughly 1% Monday.
Analysts fear that weak third-quarter earnings could also weigh on stock prices.
Shares of Apple rose, after the iPhone maker was upgraded by Jefferies analyst Peter Misek.
Shares of BlackBerry gained 4% on rumours that new buyers are emerging for the troubled smartphone maker.
The buyers, according to reports, could consider buying Blackberry in parts. That's giving investors at least some hope that a deal may actually get done.
The government shutdown is in day seven, and lawmakers appear no closer to resolving the impasse. That's forced investors to consider what that could mean for the markets and the global economy.
On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said that Congress was "playing with fire," and warned the U.S. could default in just over a week.
Analysts have started sounding alarm bells.
Last week, Bank of America analysts said that the government shutdown wouldn't impact fourth-quarter GDP growth. But over the weekend, they changed their tune and lowered growth estimates for the fourth quarter to 2% from 2.5%.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury remained positive, lowering yields to 2.63% from Friday’s 2.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 76 cents to $103.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $12.60 at $1,322.50 U.S. an ounce.
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