CANADA STOCKS-TSX climbs for 8th day as Barrick, Goldcorp gain

    * TSX rises 23.36 points, or 0.17 percent, to 13,923.85 
    * Six of the 10 main index sectors advance 
    * Teck, Cenovus, Manulife, Bombardier drop after results 
    * Barrick, Goldcorp climb despite reporting losses 
 
    By John Tilak 
    TORONTO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was up 
for an eighth day in an earnings-driven session on Thursday as 
strength in shares of Barrick Gold Corp    and Goldcorp 
Inc    offset a string of disappointing quarterly results. 
    Sharp declines in Teck Resources Ltd   , Cenovus 
Energy Inc   , Manulife Financial Corp    and 
Bombardier Inc    exerted downward pressure on the 
market. 
    But gains in the shares of Barrick and Goldcorp, the world's 
two biggest gold miners, even though both reported quarterly 
losses, helped the index overcome the broad weakness. 
      
     "The market remains nervous. I'm not expecting to see any 
real direction in the near term," said Michael Sprung, president 
of Sprung Investment Management. "I wouldn't be surprised, given 
the runup we've had last year, to see a correction at some 
point." 
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index 
   was up 23.36 points, or 0.17 percent, at 13,923.85. 
    Sprung said he expects a high level of market volatility in 
2014 but sees the TSX ending the year higher. The Canadian 
benchmark index has outperformed the S&P 500    so far this 
year. 
    Investors also digested data on Thursday that showed a rise 
in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment 
benefits last week. Separate figures showed U.S. retail sales 
fell in January, missing expectations, as cold weather had an 
impact. [ID: nL2N0LH244] 
    Six of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher. 
    Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, 
climbed 0.3 percent, with gains in banks offsetting weakness in 
Manulife. Royal Bank of Canada    advanced 0.6 percent to 
C$70.96. 
    Manulife reported a 20 percent rise in fourth-quarter 
profit, but that fell short of estimates. Shares of the 
country's biggest life insurer were down 1.3 percent at 
C$20.63.   
    Cenovus Energy's quarterly operating profit missed market 
expectations as production at its Foster Creek oil sands project 
in northern Alberta dropped 11 percent. The stock slipped 2.8 
percent to C$28.82.    
    Teck shed 6.1 percent to C$26.17 after the diversified miner 
reported a lower quarterly operating profit.    
    Plane and train maker Bombardier posted a 
lower-than-expected quarterly profit due to a fall in gross 
margins and forecast a slowdown in revenue growth at its rail 
unit this year.    
    One of the big gainers in Toronto was Verde Potash PLC 
  , which soared for a second straight day ahead of an 
announcement next week on Brazilian government funding for 
agriculture-related projects. Shares of Verde, which is 
developing a potash mine in Brazil, jumped 30 percent to 70 
Canadian cents, following a 52 percent rise the previous 
session. 
    ($1=$1.10 Canadian) 
 
 (Additional reporting by Rod Nickel; Editing by Peter Galloway) 
 ((john.tilak@thomsonreuters.com)(1-416-687-7918)(Reuters 
Messaging: john.tilak.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
  
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