Trader J,
A small end of the comments of Mr. Greenspan.
Toronto stocks opened mixed on Thursday as U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned of imbalances in the U.S. economy which threaten continued expansion,
raising the specter of inflation. * Volume was 13.2 million shares worth C$144.7 million.
TORONTO, May 6 (Reuters) - Toronto stocks opened mixed on Thursday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan warned of imbalances in the U.S. economy that threaten continued expansion, raising the specter of inflation.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark 300 Composite Index fell 11.64 points or 0.17 percent to 7011.98. Volume was
13.2 million shares worth C$144.7 million. Advancers edged decliners 238 to 228 with 189 issues unchanged.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.65 points or 0.33 percent to 10,918.76. The Nasdaq composite
index rose 4.01 points or 0.16 percent to 2538.46.
''If in the long run Greenspan's musings are right, it's beneficial to the Canadian market because of our higher weighting in
commodity stocks,'' CentrePost Mutual Funds President Rick Hutcheon said.
''But the question is, how bad is the equity pricing damage going to be in the U.S., because if they go down hard, they take
us with them,'' Hutcheon said.
Greenspan told the Chicago Federal Reserve ''there are imbalances in our expansion that, unless redressed, will bring this
long run of strong growth and low inflation to a close.''
But he did add there were ''tentative signs'' of improvements in economies other than the United States.
Overall, nine of the TSE 300's 14 subgroups traded lower led by a 0.8-percent dip in oil and gas stocks after a 20 cent fall in
Brent crude oil to $16.85 a barrel. Gold and precious metals, however, rose 2 percent on the $1.50 an ounce gain made in
June COMEX gold futures to $290 an ounce.
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