Most Canada Stocks Fall, Led by Research In Motion; Nexen Gains

By John Kipphoff

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Most Canadian stocks fell as mining companies declined after BHP Billiton Ltd. scrapped its record takeover bid for Rio Tinto Group and Toronto-Dominion Bank announced plans to bolster its capital following trading losses.

Barrick Gold Corp. paced the drop among raw-materials shares after saying that it froze hiring at most operations in an attempt to conserve cash. Research In Motion Ltd. slid to the lowest in more than a week after BMO Capital Markets said the maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phone may sign up fewer subscribers than forecast this month.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 1.99, or less than 0.1 percent, to 8,442.86 in Toronto as 130 stocks declined and 105 advanced. Nexen Inc. led energy shares higher, helping the group rally a third day even as oil prices fell.

“We’re definitely not buying bank stocks at the moment,” said Robert McWhirter, who manages about $140 million at Selective Asset Management in Toronto. “There’s concern RIM came up light on the quarter. Tech stocks are facing a challenge, as other companies are, because of lower earnings across the board. The market’s trying to find a bottom.”

The S&P/TSX added 9.3 percent in three sessions, the most since a three-day, 15 percent advance on Oct. 30, boosted by the U.S. government’s bailout of Citigroup Inc. Canada’s main stock benchmark is still down 39 percent this year, poised for its worst annual drop on record, after worldwide credit losses approached $1 trillion and commodity prices slumped.

Short Supply

Research In Motion fell 8.1 percent, the most since Nov. 14, to C$50.77. Outlets of Verizon Wireless, the mobile-phone provider selling Research In Motion’s new Storm phone since last week, received only a limited number of the handsets, BMO Capital Markets analysts led by Keith Bachman wrote in a note, citing conversations with “several” stores.

Bachman, based in New York, said he estimates that Research In Motion will gain 2.78 million new subscribers in November, missing the company’s forecast of 2.9 million.

A measure of computer-related stocks, which gets four- fifths of its value from Research In Motion, dropped 6.8 percent.

A gauge of raw-materials shares fell 1.4 percent after BHP Billiton abandoned its yearlong pursuit of Rio Tinto, blaming the rout in commodities prices and the credit-market squeeze for derailing its $66 billion offer, the biggest attempted hostile takeover in the mining industry.

Cost Cuts

Barrick Gold fell 1.9 percent to C$34.30, declining for the first time after a four-day rally during which it advanced 36 percent. The biggest bullion mining company instituted cost- saving measures, including travel restrictions, about a month ago, spokesman Vince Borg said today in an interview.

Goldcorp Inc., the second-largest by market value, dropped 3.1 percent to C$30.54. Kinross Gold Corp., Canada’s third- biggest producer of the metal, retreated 4.2 percent to C$16.95.

Toronto-Dominion fell 4.7 percent to C$40.89, taking its decline this year to 41 percent. Canada’s second-largest bank, the worst-performing stock in 2008 among the nation’s six biggest lenders, said last night that it will sell as much as C$1.38 billion ($1.12 billion) in stock to increase its regulatory capital ratio. TD said last week that it will post about C$350 million in trading losses for the fourth quarter.

A group of finance shares still rose 0.6 percent after Bank of Montreal posted a 24 percent gain in fourth-quarter earnings, exceeding analysts’ estimates as it did not repeat debt writedowns and trading losses from a year ago. The stock added 2.4 percent. Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, rose 10 percent to C$24.67, the most in almost a month.

Nexen gained 8.9 percent to C$20.15. EnCana Corp., Canada’s biggest oil and gas company by market value, added 1.9 percent to C$51.98. An index of energy companies in the S&P/TSX added 0.8 percent, rallying for a third day after falling to the lowest since 2004 on Nov. 20.

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