Canadian stocks were little changed, after four straight days of gains, as an increase in gold and silver prices offset declines in energy shares.
Raw-materials producers advanced as Detour Gold Corp. and OceanaGold Corp. climbed at least 4.8 percent. Longview Oil Corp. jumped 13 percent after receiving an unsolicited, non-binding takeover offer from a public oil and gas company. HudBay Minerals Inc. lost 4.8 percent after making a C$360 million ($326 million) unsolicited offer to acquire the rest of Augusta Resource Corp. Augusta soared 26 percent.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (SPTSX) increased 9.44 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,795.94 at 2:14 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge is up 1.3 percent this year. Trading in S&P/TSX stocks was 12 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day.
“Today, all seems calm,” said David Baskin, president of Baskin Financial Services in Toronto. The firm manages C$600 million. “There has been a mini-correction in the TSX, but the fundamentals are still supporting stocks.”
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will speak on monetary policy and the outlook for the U.S. economy tomorrow for the first time after being sworn in as the central bank’s head on Feb. 3. The Fed chairman will testify before the House Financial Services Committee in a semi-annual report. The Fed has already decided to slow the pace of its asset-purchase program twice, reducing its monthly buying of bonds to $65 billion from $85 billion in 2013.
….more on economic data HERE
