TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE – April 21-27

TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE – April 21-27

The TSX gained ground during the April 21-27 reporting period: the S&P/TSX composite index was up 269 points, or 2.9%, to 9,395; the Capped Materials index added 6 points, or 2.6%, to 249; and the Capped Metals and Mining index surged 62 points, or 15.3%, to 463.

The market advanced on optimism about the condition of U. S. banks, positive earnings results, and strength in gold prices. Gold moved higher after China’s government confirmed that it has been buying gold secretly.

But economic forecasts remained downbeat, with the Bank of Canada projecting that Canada’s economy will shrink by 3% this year, followed by a rebound of 2.5% next year.

National Bank economist Stefane Marion sees early signs of stabilization in certain sectors of the U. S. economy. Orders for non-defence capital goods increased 1.5% in March, and sales of new single-family homes in March, although low, were at least stable.

Meanwhile, Scotiabank economist Patricia Mohr believes that China’s industrial activity bottomed at a 3.8% annual growth rate in January/February, picking up to an 8.3% annual growth rate in March.

Silver prices have also advanced in tandem with gold, but platinum prices declined, along with prices of most base metals. The declines were triggered by market fundamentals, as well as fears that any economic recovery would be delayed by the swine flu outbreak.

One of the largest movers in the mining sector was diversified miner Teck, whose class B shares continued their run-up with a $2.54 gain to $11.65 after the company managed to restructure some of its debt, reducing repayments this year by US$4.4 billion.

HudBay Minerals rose $1.52 to $8.35 after Lakomasko, a Dutch company controlled by India-based miner Vedanta Resources, disclosed that it had accumulated a 9.5% stake in HudBay.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan shed $3.72 to $99.28 after announcing lower-than-expected quarterly earnings, which it blamed on lower sales.

Spot potash prices in Vancouver declined to US$710 per tonne in March from US$872, but Agrium managed to advance, gaining 80¢ to $49.01. Scotiabank’s Commodity Price Index report anticipates a rebound in potash prices later this year as a result of “significant production curtailments.”

The uranium sector enjoyed a strong week after the spot price added US$1.50 to US$42 per lb. of uranium oxide. Until the latest uptick, uranium prices had been going south since December. Another positive factor was a recent spate of equity financings in the sector, with Cameco, Denison Mines and Uranium One raising money. All three companies moved up during the reporting period. Other gainers included Paladin Energy, up 47¢ to $3.85, as well as Uranerz Energy and Laramide Resources.

TSX most active issues
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Teck B	TCKB	84906	13.33	8.25	11.65	+ 2.54
HoriznsGBull	HGU	31892	10.97	9.20	10.75	+0.76
Uranium One	UUU	31058	3.49	2.71	3.42	+ 0.59
Yamana Gold	YRI	29787	10.15	9.21	9.95	+ 0.25
Lundin Mng	LUN	28188	2.22	1.90	2.12	+ 0.15
Paladin Energy	PDN	26952	3.98	3.25	3.85	+ 0.47
KinrossGold	K	23749	19.60	17.29	19.10	+0.87
Denison Mines	DML	21677	1.82	1.35	1.71	+ 0.30
Barrick Gold	ABX	19024	37.46	34.20	36.68	+ 0.52
Mercator Mnls	ML	17817	1.35	1.08	1.23	0.00

TSX greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Uranerz Energy	URZ	370	1.68	0.84	1.67	+ 89.7
Far West Mng	FWM	102	2.50	1.35	2.24	+ 77.7
Laramide Res	LAM	2113	2.35	1.35	2.35	+ 70.2
Ur-Energy	URE	8659	1.22	0.72	1.14	+ 54.0
Avnel Gold	AVK	122	0.15	0.10	0.12	+ 50.0
Linear Metals	LRM	142	0.08	0.06	0.06	+ 50.0
Pure Diam Expl	PUG	662	0.04	0.03	0.03	+ 50.0
Arehada Mining	AHD	323	0.10	0.08	0.09	+ 50.0
Mawson Res	MAW	259	0.62	0.41	0.60	+ 46.3
Coalcorp Mng	CCJ	1897	0.20	0.13	0.19	+ 46.1
Firstgold	FGD	2305	0.20	0.08	0.10	-50.0
Carlisle Goldf	CGJ	30	0.05	0.03	0.03	-40.0
Timminco	TIM	8799	2.12	1.55	1.56	-33.9
Australn Solom	SGA	50	0.22	0.18	0.18	-30.7
Genco Res	GGC	1375	0.31	0.22	0.24	-25.0
VG Gold	VG	123	0.09	0.07	0.07	-22.2
Carpathian Gld	CPN	717	0.23	0.19	0.19	-20.8
Lydian Intl	LYD	76	0.40	0.35	0.35	-20.4
Franc-Or Res	FOR	76	0.05	0.04	0.04	-20.0
Ontex Res	ONT	318	0.22	0.17	0.17	-19.0

TSX greatest value change
WEEK
		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Cameco Corp	CCO	9241806	25.06	+ 3.99
Inmet Mining	IMN	1507422	37.90	+ 3.33
First Quantum	FM	3130184	41.14	+ 3.09
Teck B	TCKB	84905543	11.65	+ 2.54
Silver Std Res	SSO	473021	21.42	+ 2.24
Centerra Gold	CG	4558567	7.54	+ 2.18
Pan Am Silver	PAA	939444	21.13	+ 1.97
Newmont Mng	NMC	243428	50.29	+ 1.92
Teck A	TCKA	57360	14.50	+ 1.87
Thompson Creek	TCM	9901442	7.49	+ 1.62
Potash Cp Sask	POT	6985066	99.28	-3.72
Timminco	TIM	8799402	1.56	-0.80
Agnico-Eagle	AEM	5332615	57.82	-0.77
Horizns G Bear	HGD	8768113	8.05	-0.76
Seabridge Gold	SEA	82851	23.90	-0.50
Faircourt Gold	FGX	25400	7.02	-0.33
Tanz Roy Exp	TNX	553786	3.62	-0.26
Royal Gold	RGL	36045	45.42	-0.18
Athabasca Pota	API	333215	3.09	-0.16
Comaplex Mnrl	CMF	32797	3.10	-0.15