Toronto Stocks Post Mild Gains In Early Trading

Toronto Stocks Post Mild Gains In Early Trading

Tuesday, December 21, 2004, 10:15 AM EST (Thomson Financial Corporate Group): Canadian issues are moving higher, supported by gold, material, mining and real estate stocks. Technology issues are mildly lower, pressured by ATI Technologies, after that firm released its quarterly results. Investors await earnings from Cognos and Research In Motion, due out later today.

* The S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index is rising 20.31 points,
or 0.22%.

* Yesterday, the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index leapt 54.32
points, or 0.60%.

* In a busy day for technology earnings, ATI Technologies posted a higher
first-quarter profit of US$0.25 a share, compared with US$0.19 a share a
year earlier. Excluding certain costs, ATI earned US$0.28 a share,
beating the mean Thomson First Call forecast of US$0.27 a share. The
firm's revenue grew to US$613.9 million. Also, ATI expects its current-
quarter revenue level to be similar to the first-quarter figure, plus or
minus US$20 million. The stock is currently slumping. Research In Motion
and Cognos are expected to post results later today.

* South of the border, Intel is again active on brokerage research.
Lehman Brothers upgraded the chip giant to "overweight" from "equal
weight," on the view that its business is tracking favorably in the near
term, with fourth-quarter results possibly at the higher end of recently
raised forecasts.

* Meanwhile, some U.S. brokerages beat estimates. Morgan Stanley beat
Wall Street forecasts for its fiscal fourth quarter, as its revenue
climbed to US$5.45 billion from last year's US$5.09 billion. Separately,
Bear Stearns posted a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit of
US$2.61 a share, as revenue jumped 28% to US$2.38 billion.

* Gold shares are trading higher this morning, despite mild strength in
the greenback versus the euro. Some upbeat sector research is aiding gold
issues. UBS lifted its ratings on Barrick Gold, Kinross Gold and Placer
Dome to "buy" from "neutral." The brokerage cited valuation as the
primary reason for the upgrades. In corporate reports, Bema Gold ended
negotiations for GoldSpring's acquisition of Bema's Yarnell Mining unit
in Arizona.

* Meanwhile, energy stocks are near the unchanged mark, as oil prices
decline due to a technical correction.

* Within the healthcare group, QLT and its development partner, MediGene
AG, received approval in 24 of 26 countries in Europe for one-month and
three-month Eligard treatments for prostate cancer.

* Turning to deals in the cyclical sector, Rona is set to buy privately
held Totem Building Supplies Ltd. for C$100 million in cash. Rona said
the deal will nearly double its retail network in Alberta to 34 outlets
and will immediately add to its earnings.

* On the economic front, retail sales jumped 1.4% in October to a
seasonally adjusted record of C$29.60 billion from a revised C$29.20
billion in September. A rebound in auto sales contributed to the higher
figure. Economists were looking for a smaller 1.1% rise in the October
reading. Also, the leading indicator was unchanged in November, partly
due to weakness in the manufacturing sector from the higher loonie. The
index was 200.1, compared with 200.2 in October. Economists expected the
index to edge up 0.2% in November.

-- Linda.Shea@thomson.com; Thomson Financial Corporate Group



This is Thomson Financial Corporate Group's Canadian Commentary, which is updated twice daily. The information herein is believed to be true and accurate, we take no responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve the right to update our reports. For more financial information at your fingertips, please visit www.irchannel.com. If you have any questions please e-mail James Sang at james.sang@tfn.com or call 646.822.6233. For more information about Thomson Financial visit us on-line at http://www.thomsonfinancial.com/.

PRNewswir -- Dec. 21


Source: Thomson Financial Corporate Group

Web site: http://www.thomsonfinancial.com/


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