Chris King

Chris King: The Toronto market ended the week with a modest loss of 45 points or 0.35 per cent following the release of a slew of earnings from corporate Canada, particularly from the resource sector. The materials sector was the biggest drag after fertilizer producers PotashCorp of Saskatchewan TSX:POT and Agrium TSX:AGU racked up huge losses after Russian producer Uralkali opted to break up a powerful cartel. The move raised concerns that potash prices could fall by around 25 per cent, according to CTV. " You couldn't give them away last year," said Chris King, portfolio manager at Morgan, Meighen and Associates and TORONTO -- The focus on earnings moves to the financial sector this week as traders wait for reports from insurance giants Manulife Financial Corp. TSX:MFC and Sun Life Financial Inc. TSX:SLF . The reports, Sun Life on Wednesday and Manulife on Thursday, come at a time when both stocks are trading close to their 52-week highs. Sun Life has risen 62 per cent from its 52-week low to $33.95 while Manulife has surged 81 per cent from its low for the year to $18.74. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.