Friday, June 16, 2006, 4:15 PM EST (Thomson Financial Corporate
Services): Canadian shares were mixed as investors sought direction
following the gains of the previous two sessions, which broke a string of
losses suffered earlier in the month. Technology and financial stocks
ticked higher, while energy and gold issues slipped. In the U.S., the Dow
Jones Industrial Average also took a breather following the past two robust
trading sessions.
* The S&P/TSX Stock Exchange Composite Index slipped 5.31 points, or
0.05%.
* On the U.S. economic front, consumer sentiment improved in early
June, according to proprietary research release from the University of
Michigan. The consumer sentiment index rose to 82.4 points in June from
79.1 in May. It's the first increase since March. Economists were expecting
sentiment to be unchanged. Also, the U.S. balance-of-payments deficit
narrowed in the first quarter to US $208.7 billion from US $223.1 billion
in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported. Economists had
expected the current account to shrink to about US $221 billion.
* In Canadian economic data, official international reserves fell $118
million in the week ended June 15, the Bank of Canada reported. At June 15,
the official international reserves totaled $35.032 billion, compared with
$35.150 billion at June 8.
* Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said The Bank of Canada
might need to raise short-term interest rates higher, as the economy may
grow near its potential through 2007. "Further modest increases in the
overnight interest rate will likely be required to bring headline inflation
back to target, although the Bank's credible commitment to price stability
provides scope to respond flexibly to macroeconomic developments," the IMF
said following a review.
* Shares of tech giant Nortel Networks Corp. rose after the company
launched an offering of US $2 billion of senior unsecured notes in the U.S.
The company said it plans to use US $1.3 billion from the offering to repay
its US $1.3 billion, one-year credit facility from February and use the
remainder for general corporate purposes.
* In the U.S., shares of Oracle Corp. surged after the business
software maker said it would beat analyst expectations with a
better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
* Turning to telecoms, BCE said it is preparing to take its Telesat
satellite unit public in the second half of the year.
-- Michael.O'Brien@contractor.Thomson.com; Thomson Financial Corporate
Services
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Canadian Commentary, which
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accurate, we take no responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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