0906682998

Canadian Stocks Notch Third Weekly Gain as Metals Shares Rise
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By John Kipphoff
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks notched a third week of gains, as raw-materials producers including Goldcorp Inc. and LionOre Mining International Ltd. extended a rally alongside prices of gold and nickel.
The market was little changed today as industrial companies declined on concern the North American economy is slowing.
``The market wants to go higher, though it's beginning to look a little stretched,'' said John Johnston, who helps manage about $2.2 billion as chief strategist at RBC Dominion Securities Inc.'s The Harbour Group in Toronto. ``People are taking a chance to make their year look better. They're optimistic that the global economy is strong enough to weather an American slowdown.''
The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 2.1 percent this week, the third straight and the biggest weekly advance since July. Today the benchmark slipped 13.82, or 0.1 percent, to 12,631.08 in Toronto.
The S&P/TSX climbed to an intraday high of 12,663.10 earlier in the day in trading that was slower than normal as stock exchanges in the U.S., which were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday, ended trading three hours early today.
Gold rose 1.2 percent to $637.25 an ounce today as the dollar fell to a 19-month low against the euro, spurring demand for bullion as an alternative investment. It notched a 2.8 percent gain this week.
The U.S. currency declined to the lowest since February 2005 as the economy of the 12-nation euro region is poised to expand at its fastest pace in six years, fueling speculation the European Central Bank may raise interest rates.
U.S. Growth
In the U.S., economic advisers to President George W. Bush on Nov. 21 cut their forecasts for growth next year on a weaker housing market. Gross domestic product will increase 2.9 percent in 2007, slower than the 3.6 percent forecast in June, the Council of Economic Advisers said.
Canada's dollar climbed the most in more than a month after the federal government yesterday doubled its budget surplus forecast for the year amid revenue windfalls stemming from the largest oil reserves outside of the Middle East.
Goldcorp, Canada's second-largest miner of the precious metal, increased 77 cents to C$32.07. The stock has gained 6.9 percent this week. Larger rival Barrick Gold Corp. added 33 cents to C$33.52. Barrick is the world's biggest bullion producer.
A gauge of raw-materials shares, which includes the gold miners, added 0.2 percent today to extend its weekly advance to 4.9 percent.
Metals' Gains
Nickel rose today to its highest since at least 1987 on concern that supply will keep lagging behind demand after a French court ordered construction to stop at a $2.15 billion mine belonging to Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce.
Copper prices gained the most in a month as the declining U.S. dollar made the metal cheaper for buyers using other currencies. Hindalco Industries Ltd., India's biggest refiner of the metal, shut a smelter, triggering supply concerns.
LionOre Mining, which produces nickel in Australia and Botswana, added 51 cents to C$10.88 today and had a weekly gain of 22 percent, the best in the S&P/TSX.
Teck Cominco Ltd., the biggest miner of zinc and a producer of copper, climbed for a fifth straight day, increasing C$1.50 to C$86.17. It's gained 9.3 percent this week.
Railroads led a 0.5 percent decline for industrial companies.
Canadian National Railway Co., the nation's biggest, slipped 38 cents to C$53.90. Smaller rival Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. fell 39 cents to C$64.65.
A measure of financial stocks fell 0.4 percent today. The banks begin reporting fourth-quarter earnings next week. They led the S&P/TSX to advance to a record close yesterday.
Financial Stocks
Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada's third-largest bank by assets, eased 21 cents at C$52.59. Manulife Financial Corp., the nation's biggest insurer, retreated 33 cents to C$38.22.
``When an index hits an all-time high, you see some people selling,'' said Sergio Di Vito, head of trading at Mavrix Fund Management Inc., which oversees $712 million in Toronto. ``Things that move up this fast become vulnerable.''
Research In Motion Ltd. fell 43 cents to C$160.60. The supplier of BlackBerry mobile e-mail phones bought software maker Epoch Integration Inc. to add network management programs. The stock has still doubled this year, leading an index of technology shares to the second-best performance this year. Barrick Gold Corp.
Bank of Nova Scotia
Canadian National Railway Co.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
Goldcorp Inc.
LionOre Mining International Ltd.
Manulife Financial Corp.
Research In Motion Ltd.
Teck Cominco Ltd.