Continuing worries about European debt contagion sent investors seeking the safe haven of gold on Tuesday, which helped push the Toronto Stock Exchange to its second positive close in two days.
The benchmark S&P/TSX closed at 12,952.88, a gain of 57.23 points or 0.44 per cent. Six of its 10 sub-indexes gained, led by materials and technology.
The price of gold rose $19.00 to US$1,385.00 an ounce, and the U.S. dollar also rose, as investors moved their money out of Europe.
"The banking sector has again come under pressure (Tuesday) as the market starts to focus, not only on Portugal, but on Spain as well and European banking exposure there," analyst Michael Hewson of CMC Markets wrote in an afternoon note.
"It is becoming increasingly apparent that if the contagion effect continues that the European authorities may not have the ammunition available to assuage concerns that the crisis won't spread to Spain and Italy."
The Canadian dollar fell 77 basis points on Tuesday to US97.41¢ as the greenback rose and after Canadian GDP figures for the third quarter showed the economy slowed more than analysts had expected. Statistics Canada reported the economy grew by one per cent in the third quarter, less than the expected 1.5 per cent. GDP also fell 0.1 per cent between September and October, while the forecast had been for it to grow by that amount.
European sovereign debt, along with news that Google could face an antitrust suit in Europe, weighed on markets in the U.S. on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,006.02, a decline of 46.47 points or 0.42 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite fell 26.99 points or 1.07 per cent to 2,498.23.
The price of oil fell by US$1.63 on Tuesday to US$84.10 a barrel.
Research In Motion gave Toronto's technology sector a boost, gaining 5.4 per cent to close at $63.25 a share after an analyst raised his rating on the stock to "buy" from "hold."
Barrick Gold Corp.'s shares gained 3.36 per cent as gold prices rose, closing at $52.91. The price of copper also advanced on Tuesday, which benefited Teck Resources Ltd. The copper producer's shares rose 3.47 per cent to $51.01.
Energy producers Suncor and Canadian National Resources saw their share prices slip on Tuesday along with the price of oil. Suncor lost 0.61 per cent to $34.48, and Canadian Natural Resources was down 0.70 per cent to $39.49.
