CANADA STOCKS-TSX little changed, but gains for 6th week in row

By Jennifer Kwan

TORONTO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index

ended little changed on Friday, supported by firmness in

materials and technology issues, but weaker than expected U.S.

economic data kept it under pressure through the day.

The United States, the world's biggest economy, grew at a

pace that fell short of economists' forecasts. That fueled

worries about U.S. growth in 2012 and added to expectations that

the Federal Reserve would need to provide more help.

'The optimism in the new year is still there, even though

the news out of the U.S. in terms of the economic growth was

weaker than expected,' said Marcus Xu, director of equity

investments at Genus Capital Management in Vancouver .

'On the other hand, we emphasize there hasn't been any major

news out of the euro zone. At this point, no news is good news.'

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished the session up 2.18 points, or 0.02 percent,

at 12,466.50, with just two of its 10 main sectors higher.

Materials rose 1.5 percent and information technology

climbed 1.2 percent.

The index was up 0.6 percent for the week, rising for the

sixth week in a row.

Key stocks on the upside included Potash Corp, up

3.5 percent at C$47.58, and Barrick Gold, which climbed

1 percent to C$49.46.

Research In Motion was a key gainer, rising 3.1

percent to C$16.79, as Fairfax Financial, the firm

controlled by investor Prem Watsa, has more than doubled its

stake in RIM. The move was seen as a vote of confidence in the

struggling BlackBerry maker.

On the downside, Toronto-Dominion Bank slipped 0.9

percent to C$77.15, while Royal Bank of Canada retreated

0.7 percent to C$52.33. Financials shed 0.7 percent on lingering

effects of the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to keep rates low

until 2014, cutting into bank loan margins.

'The financials have been beaten up pretty badly and they're

still struggling today, so that's a big part of our market. They

haven't decided which way they want to go,' said John Kinsey,

portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd.

'I think the Fed pledge to keep rates low hurts the banks.

They had been doing not too badly until that came out and they

just plummeted on that news. That's the big overhang in that

sector.'

($1=$1 Canadian)

(Reporting By Jennifer Kwan; editing by Rob Wilson)

((jennifer.kwan@thomsonreuters.com)(416-941-8178)(Reuters

Messaging: jennifer.kwan.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS CANADA/STOCKS

(============================================================== FOR CANADIAN MARKETS NEWS, CLICK ON CODES IN BRACKETS: TSX market report........................................ Canadian dollar and bonds report................... Reuters global stocks poll (Canada)... Top News: Canada .................................... FOR CANADIAN MARKETS DATA............................. )

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

The article above is about breaking forex and currency news regarding CANADA STOCKS-TSX little changed, but gains for 6th week in row, if you have any question about it. Please contact us by using the link below. Thanks for your patience.