After a disappointing run in 2011, Canadian stocks Friday ended the year on a positive note, helped by an uptick in mining stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite rose 113.39 points, or nearly 1%, to end the day, week, month and year at 11,955.09
The Canadian dollar edged up 0.13 cents to 98.15 cents U.S.
The year 2011, however, has not been kind to most Canadian equities. The S&P/TSX slid 11.4% over the course of the year, compared to its cousins to the south (see below).
But as of late, the stocks had perked up, with the S&P/TSX rising 2.5% over the fourth quarter. In comparison, the Dow jumped 12.3% and the S&P 500 climbed 11.5%.
Telecom BCE Inc. was the star performer of the larger-cap Canadian issues for 2011, with shares soaring nearly 20%. Rogers Communications was another crowd-pleaser -- its shares shot up 14%.
In Friday trade, BCE was up 1.3% to $42.49, while Rogers gained 1.1% to $40.45
On the flip side, Blackberry-maker Research In Motion shares had a grim year, plunging 75% since January, though finishing Friday higher by 0.8% to $14.77. Air Canada likewise had a rough ride, with shares nose-diving 71% by year’s end. On Friday, the airline dipped 1% to 99 cents.
Mining stocks were particularly hard hit in 2011. Shares of Eastern Platinum Ltd., which sank 1.9% to 53 cents Friday, plunged 70% on the year, while shares of Uranium One Inc. sank 55% (on Friday, it gained 0.9% to $2.16).
Also falling roughly 40% on the year were Kinross Gold Corp. (gaining 0.9% on Friday to $11.64), NovaGold Resources Inc. (which picked up 1.2% Friday to $8.61), Teck Resources Ltd., (up 1.8% to $35.84 Friday) and HudBay Minerals Inc., which grew 1.9% Friday to $10.10
Yamana Gold inc. was the major exception, with shares leaping nearly 17% in 2011, and 0.5% Friday, to $15.00.
In trading Friday, most mining stocks were trading higher, led by Yamana and First Quantum Minerals Ltd., up 3.4% to $20.00.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 23.11 points to 1,484.66, while the Nasdaq Canada index added 4.79 points to 371.34
All 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day. Industrials surged 1.9%, metals and mining gained 1.4%, and financials were 1.2% to the good.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were little changed Friday, the final trading day of 2011, as investors bid farewell to an otherwise volatile year.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 69.48 points to end the year at 12,217.60.
The S&P 500 doffed 5.50 points to 1,257.52, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 8.59 points to 2,605.15.
The S&P is now in the black for the year -- but just barely, on track for a 0.2% gain in 2011.
The Dow, meanwhile, is currently up almost 6% for the year. The Nasdaq is set for a 1.6% loss.
If stocks manage to end 2011 higher, it will mark the third straight year of gains for the major indexes, although far less impressive than the increases in 2009 and 2010, when stocks were recovering from the financial turmoil in 2008.
Shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. plunged 37% following news that the company was being delisted from the NYSE as of Jan. 5.
The delisting is occurring because AMR's share price failed to average $1 over the past 30 days -- the minimum requirement set by the NYSE for listed stocks.
Shares of Yahoo rose slightly, a day after spiking more than 2% following reports that China's Alibaba Group had hired a lobbying firm to prepare a bid for the U.S. web search pioneer.
Investors will be happy to put 2011 to bed. The markets had a choppy year to say the least. From Japan's devastating earthquake to Europe's worsening debt crisis to the ongoing bickering in Washington, stocks experienced some violent swings so it's little wonder that investors are hoping for a quiet end to the year.
While stocks had a lackluster year, Treasuries managed to log the best gains since 2008, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Treasury Master index, which returned almost 10% this year. In Friday trading, yields on the benchmark 10-year note fell to 1.87% from 1.90% late Thursday.
Oil for February delivery fell 82 cents to settle at $98.83 U.S. a barrel. Crude prices rose more than 8% in 2011, marking the third consecutive years of increases.
Gold futures for February delivery added $25.90, or 1.7%, to settle at $1,566.80 U.S. an ounce. Gold prices rose more than 10% in 2011, logging an 11th straight year of gains
