S&P/TSX Composite index Weekly Review: Emera Inc., Suncor Energy, Baytex Energy Corp., Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX)

(Before It's News)

The S&P/TSX Composite index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) finished the week up sharply after the Friday Bank of Japan surprise that lifted most markets globally, and enabled them  to end the week on a positively for the first time in 2016.

The Bank of Japan’s surprise move to charge depositors one tenth of one percent for the favour of holding on to their money for them catalyzed – or rather, was used as the pretext for – the bull market rally which ensured that world markets finished the week neutral after it looked like the slide of the first two weeks of January could morph into a full-blown crisis.

Emera Inc.’s Instalment Receipts were the biggest traders of the week adding $2.80 per share based on the recommendations of several analysts who rated the instalment receipts a ‘buy’.

In the energy sector, Baytex, Crescent Point Energy, Encana and Whitecap Resources were the biggest traders in conventional energy, none of them really increasing or decreasing in value dramatically, but rather trading sideways all week mimicking the price of oil’s erratic ups and down.

Oilsands operators Canadian Oilsands and Suncor Energy were both heavy traders for the week, mostly due to their impending merger which now appears to be on track for completion after Suncor’s amended offer to Canadian Oil Sands shareholders were mailed with tender documents last week.

Gold Mining companies were among the better traders. Kinross Gold, Yamana Gold, Barrick Gold, and B2 Gold Corp all moved in tandem with the gold price, which was as high as US$1,130.  Base Metals miners also saw heavy action, with First Quantum Mining, Teck Resources, and HudBay Minerals all turning in a heavy trading week with not much in the way of price movement, except in First Quantum’s case, who added $0.45 in total value for the week, a rise of over 17 percent for the week.

First Quantum announced at the beginning of the week that it was on track to eliminate more than $1 billion in debt through the sale of assets and various other cost-cutting initiatives. The company also revealed that its major operation in Zambia would be the beneficiary of a planned upgrade to the country’s electrical power generation capability by 430 megawatts.

The lone representative from the financial services industries among highest volume traders was Manulife Financial Corp who turned in its second straight week of price increases, this week rising a total of $0.76, or a 4.06 percent increase.

And finally, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. provided a roller coaster week, ending the week flat after initially dropping by $2 a share after it announced that it was going to slash its dividend for the first time since becoming a public company.

The post S&P/TSX Composite index Weekly Review: Emera Inc., Suncor Energy, Baytex Energy Corp., Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) appeared first on Midas Letter.

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