Commodities push TSX, as dow suffers

Gold and oil greased the path for gains on Canada’s benchmark stock index Wednesday, while the Dow Jones industrial average was beaten down to its lowest level in nearly a year by a combination of worries about European sovereign debt and the stability of the overall economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 89.63 points, or 0.74%, to 12,198.89. Only four of the 10 sub-indexes advanced but among those were two of the three heavyweights – materials, which rose 3.41%, and energy, up 1.02%. Bank stocks, which led the previous day’s advance, fell dragging the financials sector down 1.05%.

A US$3.59 jump in the price of oil, to US$82.89 a barrel, combined with another new record price for gold, which closed at US$1,781.30 an ounce, a gain of US$41.30, drove the TSX increases on a day when U.S. markets continued to decline…

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Commodities+push+suffers/5239698/story.html#ixzz1Uialj37h

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