Roger Biduk - Small Gains for Bay Street

Roger Biduk writes:

A session of see-saw trading ended in positive territory for North American stock markets as investors conjured up enough optimism to drive overall sentiment higher.
But the gains weren't without a struggle - one that lasted late into the afternoon - as traders weighed dismal home building numbers, and positive outlooks from Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard.
Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index closed ahead 40.28 points at 8,835.73.
The Canadian dollar was at 81.31 cents US, down 0.44 of a cent, and the TSX Venture Exchange dropped 35.54 to 750.25.

The TSX energy sector rose 0.5 per cent as light sweet crude closed below $55 a barrel after hitting a new 22-month low earlier in the day.
Crude was down 56 cents to $54.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Information technology stocks moved up four per cent.
Enbridge Inc. (TSX: ENB.TO) said it will invest US$500 million in Enbridge Energy Partners LP, raising its stake in the U.S. pipeline business to 27 per cent. Its shares were down $1.65 cents to $37.50.

Research In Motion (TSX: RIM.TO) was ahead 12 per cent, or $6.40, to $58. An analyst at National Bank suggested that the stock is "not one to give up on" despite lagging consumer spending.

Financials were up one per cent as Royal Bank (TSX: RY.TO) jumped 18 cents to $43.54.

Roger Biduk writes:
On the downside, gold stocks fell 0.7 per cent as the December bullion delivery declined $9.30 to US$732.70.

George Weston Ltd. (TSX: WN.TO) - majority owner of Loblaw Cos. (TSX: L.TO) - reported flat third-quarter profits of $179 million, as sales increased 4.4 per cent from a year earlier to $10.61 billion. Shares in George Weston were down 48 cents to $62.40.
Shares in TransCanada Corp. (TSX: TRP.TO) dropped nearly five per cent after Monday's announcement of bought-deal issue of $1 billion in new shares to pay debt and fund capital projects including its Keystone Pipeline. Shares were down $1.68 to $32.85.
In other corporate news, Telus Corp. (TSX: T.TO), Canada's second-largest telecom operator, says it will invest $100 million over three years on a health technology division. Telus shares gained 54 cents to $38.52.

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