האגודה הישראלית לחקר יחסי עבודה

Gains for the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index followed a0.6 per cent loss last week, which was its fourth negative week in five afterhaving rebounded more than 25 per cent from a three-year low in January.

The loss of momentum for the index is due to uncertainty around what the Fedwill do and recent weakness in commodity prices, said Bryden Teich, portfoliomanager at Avenue Investment Management.

“You do have to take a bit of a pause and that is healthy for the market,”Teich added.

One of the most influential movers on the index was Suncor Energy Inc, whichrose 0.7 per cent to $34.50, while the overall energy group firmed 0.2 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures settled up 27 cents at $43.30 (U.S.) a barrel afterVenezuela’s president said that OPEC members and other major oil producers couldagree to a deal to freeze output, and as clashes in Libya disrupted attempts torestart crude exports from key ports.

Financials rose 0.3 per cent, led by a 0.9 per cent advance in the shares ofManulife Financial Corp to $18.19, while Brookfield Asset Management Inc was up0.7 per cent at $43.70.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 45.54points, or 0.32 per cent, at 14,496.23. The index touched its highest intradaylevel since Sept. 12 at 14,557.48.

Stronger domestic growth and higher oil prices would help the index moveanother leg higher, Teich said.

All of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners andfertilizer companies, added 0.6 per cent, with gold-focused royalty and streamcompany Franco Nevada Corp rising 1.2 per cent to $93.86.

Spot gold firmed 0.2 per cent.

Industrials edged 0.1 per cent higher, helped by a 1.9 per cent gain forwaste management company Waste Connections Inc to $99.65.

All issues are on the table in negotiations with General Motors Co, the headof its main Canadian autoworkers union said, as the union pushed to secure newinvestment as part of a labor contract ahead of a midnight strike deadline.

Wall Street ends flat as banks gain, Apple drags

A see-saw session on Wall Street on Monday ended little changed, with gainsin big bank stocks offsetting a drag from Apple, as investors braced for theFederal Reserve meeting later this week.

The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the two-day meeting,but investors will assess Chair Janet Yellen’s speech on Wednesday to see if thecentral bank plans to hike as soon as December.

After trading solidly higher during the morning, the benchmark S&P 500pulled back and slid briefly into negative territory. The index has tallied fourdaily moves of at least 1 per cent in the past couple of weeks after two monthsof calm.

“The market has been all over the place. It’s been driven by the threat ofhigher interest rates,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of LongbowAsset Management in Tulsa. “Most people feel the most unloved bull market inrecent memory will be cut off at the knees by higher interest rates, and the Fedis certainly threatening that in the near term.”

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.63 points, or 0.02 per cent, to18,120.17, the S&P 500 lost 0.04 points, to 2,139.12 and the NasdaqComposite dropped 9.54 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 5,235.03.

Traders are betting that there is only a 12-per cent chance the Fed willraise interest rates this week, but see a 55-per cent chance the central bankwill do so in December, according to the CME’s FedWatch website.

Investors also are eyeing the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting on Tuesday andWednesday, while the first debate of the U.S. presidential election is set fornext Monday.

“You’re in a cycle in the market where political uncertainty and economicuncertainty are just so high that investors are taking advantage of any move upto sell and any selloff to buy,” said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyViewCapital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey.

“As a result we’re stuck in a trading range that we probably can’t break outof until you get through the Fed meeting, and you get through probably thedebate next Monday, and you get a lot closer to the next round of earningsreleases,” Meckler said.

JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo all posted gains, and the KBW Bankindex rose 0.5 per cent.

Energy shares slipped 0.1 per cent, pulling back as oil prices pared gainsduring the session.

“There seems to be still that strong correlation between what’s going on incrude and what’s going on in the broad market right now,” said Chuck Carlson,chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.

The real estate sector gained 1 per cent. The stocks debuted as the 11thmajor S&P 500 group.

Apple shares shed 1.2 per cent after registering huge gains last week. Thestock was the biggest drag on the three major U.S. indexes.

Sarepta Therapeutics’ shares rocketed 73.9 per cent to $48.94 after U.S.regulators approved its key muscle disorder drug.

About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 6.7billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reutersdata.

NYSE advancing issues outnumbered decliners 2.21-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a1.45-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the NasdaqComposite recorded 95 new highs and 30 new lows.