Profit taking was the name of the game during Tuesday trading on the Canadian markets as investors position themselves ahead of the third quarter earnings season. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange gave back 4.44%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 9% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, lost 1.58%, with the declining issuers out pacing the advancers by a 471 to 351 margin on volume of 142 million shares traded.

Over in New York, shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold got slammed after the company announced that third quarter profit fell to $523 million or $1.31 per share from $775 million or $1.87 per share in the year ago period. Lower copper prices resulted in a 9% drop in revenue to $4.62 billion. Freeport ended the day down $3.98 at $32.74.

Once again the low price of nickel prompted a mine shut down. This time FNX Mining (FNX) suspended commercial production at its Levack nickel contact deposits in Sudbury. FNX ended the day down C$0.94 at C$5.86.

Shares of VMS Ventures lost C$0.05 to close at C$0.28 after the junior tabled 14.47 metres grading 3.27% copper at its Reed Lake discovery zone in Manitoba.

On the merger front, Nemi Northern Energy & Mining (NNE.A) and Aviva inked a deal that would see Aviva shareholders get 0.59 of a Nemi share. The move would create an international coal and energy firm. Nemi ended the session up C$0.02 at C$0.265.

The Bank of Canada cut interest rates by a less than expected 0.25% and went on to cite that the United States is already in recession with a global recession nipping on its heals. The move failed to rally the beaten down Canadian dollar with investors taking the cue from commodity prices and not interest rate policy. We will see what Wednesday trading has in store.

Source: Resource Stock Roundup Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008