SF: Canadian Stocks Decline After Yesterday's Drop in Oil, Copper
May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell for the first time in six days as equities reflected drops in oil and copper prices during yesterday's Victoria Day holiday.
Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's largest oil and gas producer, lost 1.1 percent a day after the U.S. dollar rallied on speculation European countries are more like to default on their debt. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. rose 3.3 percent after Citigroup Inc. boosted its potash price forecast. Manulife Financial Corp., North America's fourth-largest insurer, decreased 1.9 percent a day after the Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated the most in two months.
The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index retreated 29.05 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,623.22 at 9:35 a.m. in Toronto.
The S&P/TSX rallied the most in three months last week as stocks rebounded from their lowest prices relative to earnings in six months and copper, gold, corn and wheat advanced. The index had fallen the previous three weeks for the longest streak of weekly declines since January 2010.
