Toronto stocks end lower

The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index ended lower on Friday, reversing three days of gains, as mining stocks slumped along with metal prices. The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index closed down 33.17 points, or 0.3 percent, at 13,111.57. The benchmark index ended up 1.1 percent on the week, and touched a record high of 13,178.91 on Thursday.
Overall, five of the TSX index's 10 main groups were lower. A 1.7 percent fall in the resource-laden materials sector dragged down the broader index as the price of gold fell to below $650 an ounce and base metals prices dropped sharply on a fund-driven sell-off.
Changes in investor sentiment, recent strength in some commodities, as well as a rosier economic outlook, has also prompted some profit-taking, said Elvis Picardo, chief market strategist at Global Securities Corp, in Vancouver.
"It's these shifts in sentiment that are causing the commodities prices to bounce around," he said. "At some point, investors are going to get nervous and bail out. That's exactly what's happening now."
Among gold stocks, Goldcorp Inc shed 79 Canadian cents, or 2.4 percent, to C$32.32, while Barrick Gold Corp lost 9 Canadian cents to finish at C$35.51. Losses were seen among base-metal miners such as Teck Cominco Ltd, which shed C$3.99, or 4.5 percent, to C$84.32, while Inmet Mining slid C$3.19, or 5.2 percent, to C$58.25.
Energy companies added a slim 0.05 percent, despite a spike in crude oil, which jumped 3 percent to above $59 a barrel. Oil got a lift from a continued cold snap in Canada and the United States, while supply concerns in Iran and Nigeria drove prices higher.
Talisman Energy Inc rose 12 Canadian cents, or 0.6 percent, to C$21.04 and EnCana Corp was up 14 Canadian cents, or 0.3 percent, at C$57.12. "Overall, I think it's a very healthy equity market," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier. "Today, it's profit-taking as opposed to trend-setting."
Shares of Cott Corp, rose 54 Canadian cents to finish at C$16.85 even though the firm reported a wider fourth-quarter loss. Imperial Metals Corp again upped its bid in the take-over tussle for bcMetals Corp, in a deal now worth about C$65.3 million. Shares of Imperial Metals dropped 20 Canadian cents, or 1.8 percent, to C$10.70.
Market volume was 359 million shares worth C$5.6 billion. Advancers outpaced decliners 864 to 700. The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index closed 2.71 points lower, or 0.4 percent, at 751.87. South of the border, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.19 points, or 0.16 percent, to 12,653.49, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 7.50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,475.88.