Toronto Stocks On Pace To Finish At Two-Week Low

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | March 30 2009 2:46 PM

Bay Street stocks remained sharply lower in Monday afternoon trading and are on pace to finish at a two-week low. The market has followed the lead of U.S. and European markets, which are down amid as investors react to discouraging news from the auto industry and remain wary of what may transpire at the meeting of the G20.

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The S&P/TSX Composite Index has dropped 274.61 points or 3.11% to 8,546.45. The index has moved to a 10-day low.

Mining stocks have plunged 10.4%, giving back some of a recent rally. FNX Mining (FNX.TO) has plunged 17.1% after the company posted a fourth-quarter net loss of C$397.4 million or C$4.68 per share, compared to a profit of C$32.3 million or C$0.38 per share in the prior year quarter.

Financials are down 5.3% as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said some banks could need additional assistance. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) has plunged 6%, Scotiabank (BNS.TO) has plummeted 5.7%, CIBC (CM.TO) has dropped 5.5% and Toronto-Dominion (TD.TO) has lost 5.2%.

Energy stocks are down 4.6% as crude oil has lost $2.14 to $50.24 per barrel. Savanna (SVY.TO) is down 9%, Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN.TO) has dropped 6.9% and Canadian National Resources (CNQ.TO) has lost 6.4%.

In corporate news, Research In Motion (RIM.TO) has dropped 3.5% as a Wall Street Journal report said the Blackberry maker's profit margins may decline because of investments in advertising and new software.

Adherex Technologies (AHX.TO) has surged 14.3%. The biopharmaceutical company reported a nearly flat loss for fiscal 2008. The company also announced that it would reduce workforce by 75% to counter its financial predicament.

LAB Research (LRI.TO) has plunged 56% after the company reported fourth-quarter net loss from continuing operations of C$6.7 million, compared to net loss from continuing operations of C$1.7 million in the same 2007 period.

MDN (MDN.TO) has soared 24% after the company reported a profit for the fiscal year 2008. The company's net earnings for 2008 were C$22.13 million or C$0.241 per share, compared to a net loss of C$11.41 million or $0.138 per share last year. Revenues for 2008 climbed to C$27.26 million from C$1.57 million in 2007.

Autoparts maker Magna International (MG.A.TO) has lost 5% amid further worries for the auto industry. President Obama and his auto task force have indicated that General Motors (GM) and Chrysler have not gone far enough in their restructuring plans and need to step up their efforts to reorganize in order to receive additional government aid.

Additionally, at the request of the White House, Rick Wagoner is stepping down as chairman and CEO of General Motors, with Fritz Henderson, GM president and chief operating officer, set to replace Wagoner as CEO.

Meanwhile, optimism surrounding the G20 summit has waned, as investors fear that earlier hopes that the countries will agree to a coordinated fiscal boost appear to have been crushed by skepticism in many European governments.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the global recession could be getting worse and said international leaders need to reduce trade barriers. The comments come ahead of Thursday's Group of Twenty meeting in London.

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