TORONTO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock index was
slightly lower on Wednesday morning as a gain in TMX Group
(X.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares on a proposed deal for the London Stock Exchange
to buy the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange was balanced by
mixed earnings reports and some declining commodity prices.

At 10:32 a.m. (1532 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 12.61 points, or
0.09 percent, at 13,879.91, but still not far off the 2-1/2
year high of 13,909.84 that it hit on Tuesday.

TORONTO, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts rose a
modest 0.8 percent in January as strength concentrated in rural
areas offset dips in urban markets, suggesting the once buoyant
sector will continue to weigh on economic growth.

Housing starts edged up to a seasonally adjusted annualized
rate of 170,400 units from a revised 169,000 units in December,
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Tuesday.

TORONTO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock index
touched its highest level since September 2008 on Monday as the
uprising in Egypt sparked a jump in the price of oil and a
rally in energy shares.

Brent oil prices surged above $101 a barrel for the first
time since 2008, while U.S. crude hit its highest point since
October 2008 on concern that unrest in Egypt could spread to
crude-producing countries in the Middle East or disrupt Suez
Canal flows. [O/R]

VAUGHAN, Ontario/OTTAWA, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Canada’s
Conservative government deflected opposition calls on Monday to
reverse corporate tax cuts while vowing not to provoke a snap
election over the next budget, due in March.

Opposition to the tax cuts has become the rallying cry of
the main opposition party, the Liberals, but Finance Minister
Jim Flaherty and a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper
said they would not back down on that issue.

TORONTO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock index
surged on Wednesday, hitting its highest level in a week, led
by commodity issues after the U.S. Federal Reserve left
interest rates unchanged and said it would keep its bond-buying
plan intact. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE finished up 206.12 points, or 1.55 percent, at 13,465.75, its highest level since Jan. 19. Nine of the index's 10 main sectors gained, led by a 3.64 percent jump in materials and 2.37 percent advance in oil and gas. The top six heavyweight blue-chip advancers were all up more than 3 percent: Suncor Energy (SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) to C$39.10, Barrick Gold (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) to C$47.59, and Potash Corp (POT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) ending at C$167.38. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) surged to C$42.64, while Goldcorp (G.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) climbed to C$41.21. Teck Resources (TCKb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) finished at C$60.91. "We're pretty much hitting on all cylinders," said Peter Chandler, senior vice-president at Canaccord Wealth Management in Waterloo, Ontario. Rising commodity prices supported the resource-laden index, climbing first after U.S. President Barack Obama's call for spending cuts and lower corporate taxes. Further gains were made after the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy. The Fed gave the U.S. economy a lukewarm assessment, despite recent signs the recovery was strengthening, saying high unemployment still justified its $600 billion bond-buying program. [ID:nN25283937] But financials were the one weak spot on the TSX, down 0.17 percent. Chandler said there may be lingering uncertainty as to when the country's biggest banks would raise dividends. Four of the five large banks were lower on the session, except for Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), which bucked the trend and closed up 0.18 percent at C$56.15. ($1=$0.99 Canadian) (Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Rob Wilson)

TORONTO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Canadian home resale prices
fell for a third straight month in November, a report showed on
Wednesday, confirming that the once-hot market is cooling under
pressure from higher interest rates and a slowing economy.

The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index,
which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family
homes in six metropolitan areas, showed overall prices were
down 0.2 percent in November from October.

TORONTO/OTTAWA, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Canada moved on Monday
to tighten its mortgage rules for the second time in less than
a year, citing the need to prevent the kind of housing market
problems that led other countries into financial crisis.

The new rules, designed to ensure Canadians don’t take on
more debt than they can handle, took aim at mortgage
amortization, refinancing and the use of lines of credit
secured by homes.

TORONTO, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock index
rallied to a session high at the close, powered by strength in
financials, after optimism was boosted by unexpectedly strong
earnings from JPMorgan. (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

The heavily-weighted banking sector, up 1.76 percent, fully
offset weakness among the materials group, which was dragged
lower by the gold-miners for a second-straight session.

TORONTO, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock index fell
on Thursday, as major gold miners like Barrick Gold (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
and Goldcorp (G.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) retreated with the price of bullion.

The materials group, down 2.09 percent and home to gold
miners, was the chief sector pulling down the overall index.

TORONTO, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts fell by
a greater-than-expected 13.5 percent in December from November,
mainly because of a drop in construction of multidwelling
buildings, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Tuesday.

The weakness was concentrated in Ontario, Canada’s most
populous province, where starts retraced the leap they made in
November, a rise that was largely due to groundbreakings for
condominium buildings and other multidwelling projects.
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