Toronto's main stock index was down slightly at midday on Friday as resource and financial issues fell on concerns that European policymakers were not acting urgently enough to resolve the debt crisis. Commodity stocks looked to rebound after their biggest selloff in nearly two months on Thursday, but were restrained by the European Central Bank's reluctance to commit to a broader eurozone bailout.
"They (the ECB) don't seem to want to do that," said John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd. "It's been going on now for six months and the lack of results is contributing to the discouragement." At midday, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 13.53 points, or 0.1 percent, at 11,901.90 after straddling the break-even mark for much of the session. The index opened up slightly before hitting a session low of 11,876.49, its lowest point since October 21.
Oil and gold prices ebbed and flowed with European headlines. After topping $100 a barrel earlier in the week, US crude futures retreated below $98. Energy stocks were virtually flat after falling 4 percent on Thursday. Bucking the downward trend were TransCanada Corp, up 1.5 percent at C$41.21, and Enbridge Inc, up 1.7 percent at C$36.53, as both were involved in projects to help relieve bloated US storage levels at the glutted Cushing storage hub. Bullion edged up, but was still on track for its worst week in nearly two months.
Gold mining stocks fell 1 percent, dragging down the heavily weighted materials sector, which slid 0.5 percent. Teck Resources led the materials group down, falling 1.2 percent to C$35.42. Yields on Italian and Spanish 10-year bonds fell, but they remained close to unsustainable levels as contagion fears continued to weigh on North American markets. Financials were among the biggest drags on the TSX, falling 0.2 percent, despite having little exposure to European debt holdings. Insurer Manulife Financial led the sector's declines, falling 1.7 percent to C$11.30.
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