Barrick Gold, Penn West May Advance; Celestica May Decline

By John Kipphoff

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Barrick Gold Corp. and Agrium Inc. may rise, based on bids on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after prices of bullion, corn and crude oil gained, leading a rally in commodities.

Penn West Energy Trust may also gain, bids indicated, on oil's gain and on a report in the Globe and Mail that the opposition Liberal Party will promise to repeal a tax on income trusts as part of its platform for the Oct. 14 federal election. Celestica Inc. may fall on a downgrade from CIBC World Markets.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 7 percent to 12,912.99 on Sept. 19 in Toronto, after the U.S. government proposed a rescue plan to buy illiquid assets from banks and banned short selling of financial shares. Canadian authorities followed suit late Friday, also prohibiting bets against financial companies. Friday's advance was the S&P/TSX biggest since Oct. 21, 1987, two days after the ``Black Monday'' crash.

Barrick Gold, the largest bullion producer in the world, may rise C$1.46 to C$37.96, bids already submitted in Toronto showed.

Agrium, North America's third-largest fertilizer maker, may gain 88 cents to C$89.88, bids indicated.

Penn West, Canada's second-largest energy trust by market value, may add 60 cents to C$27.50, bids suggested.

Gold, copper and price for other metals increased as the U.S. dollar declined, increasing the allure of dollar- denominated commmodities as a hedge against further declines in the currency.

Crude oil rose for a fourth day on speculation a proposed $700 billion U.S. government rescue plan for the finance industry may shore up demand.

Celestica may fall 27 cents to C$7.60, based on bids. The maker of electronic parts was cut to ``sector perform'' from ``sector outperform'' at CIBC World Markets.

U.S. stock futures gained as Microsoft Corp., Hewlett- Packard Co. and Nike Inc. announced plans to buy back shares, overshadowing the biggest four-day gain in oil prices since 2000.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Kipphoff in Montreal at jkipphoff@bloomberg.net.