(Adds portfolio manager comment, updates prices)
* TSX ends down 5.48 points, or 0.04 percent, at 13,553.30.
* Six of the TSX's 10 main groups fall
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was
torn between losses for energy and mining stocks and gains for
financial names on Friday, with both moves magnified by a surge
in U.S. jobs that made it more likely the Federal Reserve will
hike interest rates in December.
The employment report pushed the greenback .DXY to a
seven-month high, which in turned weighed on a string of
commodities and the Canadian companies that extract, drill,
produce and move them.
The materials group, which includes miners, fell 1.4
percent. Goldcorp Inc G.TO fell 4.2 percent to C$15.34, while
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO lost 3.3 percent to C$9.38 as the
price of bullion XAU= fell to a three-month low.
TransCanada TRP.TO closed down 4.3 percent at C$43.32
after U.S. President Barack Obama rejected the company's
proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline after more than seven years of
often rancorous debate. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1311KJ
"We are shocked that there was any value of Keystone left in
TransCanada," said Norman Levine, managing director at Portfolio
Management Corp.
Fellow pipeline company Enbridge Inc ENB.TO fell 2.2
percent to C$51.74 a day after saying a delay in starting up a
crude pipeline between Ontario and Quebec would hurt its
earnings. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1304NG
The broader energy group fell 0.6 percent, while U.S. crude
CLc1 settled 2 percent lower. O/R
Levine said the pipelines, along with other rate-sensitive
groups such as utilities and telecoms, were also pressured by
the prospects of higher interest rates, which makes them less
attractive for investors in search of dividend yields.
The prospect of higher rates boosted insurers, which rely
heavily on holdings of government debt they hold to maturity.
Manulife Financial Corp MFC.TO jumped 3.7 percent to
C$22.36 and Sun Life Financial SLF.TO added 2.7 percent to
C$45.04.
The overall financials groups added 0.9 percent.
"Rate hikes, other than one-day overreactions, are good for
stock markets," said Norman Levine, managing director at
Portfolio Management Corp. "It signals economies are doing
better, which leads to better corporate profits."
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
.GSPTSE closes down 5.48 points, or 0.04 percent, at
13,553.30. It gained 0.2 percent for the week.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (N:VRX) VRX.TO rallied
5.6 percent to C$109.19.
The company said on Friday that Goldman Sachs (N:GS) sold 1.3
million shares of Valeant on Thursday, a day when the stock fell
as much as 20 percent, to secure loans made to its CEO Michael
Pearson (L:PSON). urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1310Y6
Sierra Wireless Inc SW.TO slumped 22.7 percent to C$25.51
after its earnings missed analyst expectations.