RE: U- Stocks geting hit hard..David81David,
It's fear of current market turmoil that is making investors jittery. But, all is not doom and gloom as some might have you think.
Read this from Yahoo Financial, it will give you a good overview of the current market situation. Enjoy,.. Mad
TORONTO (CP) - Resource and financial stocks sent the Toronto stock market higher late Wednesday morning as investors took in positive economic data.
U.S. markets were lower ahead of a scheduled afternoon announcement on interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index gained 55.6 points to 13,033.01. The TSX has been steadily clawing back losses for the last week after rumbles on China's main stock market and worries about a slowing U.S. economy cut five per cent from the market at one point .
"If there's one thing we know, whether the market is going to go up or down, there's one thing that's certain - I think we are living in much more volatile times," said Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.
"And I think that's going to be a hallmark of financial markets going forward because we are at a turning point in the economy, in monetary policy, for both Canada and the Fed."
The Canadian dollar added to Tuesday's 1.25-cent surge, up 0.08 of a cent to 86.24 cents US after Statistics Canada reported that retail sales dipped 0.2 per cent in January. The main culprit was a 2.4 per cent sales decline in the automotive sector.
Excluding that sector, sales rose by 0.9 per cent, with strong increases reported in the furniture, home furnishings and electronic stores, clothing and accessories segments.
Also, data used to forecast the economy's performance down the road was positive. The leading indicator composite index rose 0.7 per cent in February, up from 0.5 per cent in January.
The TSX Venture Exchange ticked 6.37 points lower to 3,072.07.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrials index was down 16.02 points after two sessions of gains to 12,272.08. The Nasdaq was up 0.93 of a point to 2,409.14 after third-quarter profit at business software maker Oracle Corp. climbed 35 per cent to US$1.03 billion amid strong sales growth.
The S&P 500 index was ahead 0.36 of a point to 1,411.3.
Analysts expect the Fed to leave its key rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent but will look to the accompanying communique for the central bank's take on the deteriorating housing sector and how it is affecting the overall economy.
"The thing to watch for is the early part of the statement, which covers current conditions right now," Gregory said.
"Since they last met, things have deteriorated - there's much more economic risk and I don't think the inflation picture has gotten any better or any worse."
Oil prices were higher as the U.S. Department of Energy said crude supplies rose by a bigger-than-expected four million barrels last week. But distillates supplies fell for an eighth week, down 1.7 million barrels. Gasoline supplies fell for a sixth week.
The May contract for light sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was off earlier highs, moving up 25 cents to US$59.50 a barrel, taking the TSX energy sector 1.2 per cent higher.
Petro-Canada (TSX: PCA.TO) advanced 47 cents to $42.98 and EnCana Corp. (TSX: ECA.TO) gained 71 cents to $56.
The financial sector improved by 0.35 per cent, with Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO.TO) up 73 cents to $70.56.
The mining index gained 0.44 per cent.
Shares in Moly Mines Ltd. (TSX: MOL.TO) surged 47 cents, or 17.87 per cent, to $3.10 on heavy volume of 6.3 million shares on hopes for its Spinifex Ridge molybdenum-copper project in Australia. The stock surged 22.33 per cent Tuesday after the firm announced several appointments to its management team.