Most actively traded companies on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange markets

TORONTO – Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (12,212.42 down 61.15 points):

AuRico Gold Inc. (TSX:AUQ). Gold producer. Up $1.34, or 21.41 per cent, at $7.60 on 7,863,450 shares. The company is selling its troubled Ocampo mine and other assets to a company owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for US$750 million. AuRico said it plans to use the cash from the sale to pay down debt, fund growth and return cash to its shareholders.

Starfield Resources Inc. (TSX:SRU). Mining exploration and development. Unchanged at a penny on 5,844,111 shares.

Eldorado Gold Corp. (TSX:ELD). Miner. Up half a cent, or 2.70 per cent, at 19 cents on 5,300,197 shares. The gold sector was up 0.77 per cent to 340.04 points.

Air Canada (TSX:AC.B). Airliner. Up five cents, or 3.70 per cent, at $1.40 on 5,457,766 shares.

Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Miner. Up seven cents, or 0.69 per cent, at $10.25 on 3,777,734 shares. The Toronto-based miner said its chief financial officer is quitting the company to pursue other interests. The move is a part of the company’s effort to improve its lagging performance.

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:BNK). Oil and gas. Up eight cents, or 2.63 per cent, at $3.12 on 3,487,051 shares.

TSX Venture Exchange (1,327.81 down 17.17 points):

Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSXV:EBY). Junior oil and gas. Down half a cent, or 8.33 per cent, at 5.5 cents on 12,193,500 shares.

Porto Energy Corp. (TSXV:PEC). Oil and gas. Up a penny, or 4.35 per cent, at 24 cents on 6,943,464 shares. The U.S.-based company’s stock closed at its highest level since November 2011. On Tuesday, Porto’s president and CEO Joseph Ash said that he is “encouraged” by the preliminary findings on its well in Portugal.

Companies reporting major news:

The Jean Coutu Group (TSX:PJC.A). Pharmacy chain retailer. Up four cents, or 0.28 per cent, at $14.57 on 75,256 shares. The Montreal-based company posted July-September profits of $51.2 million or 23 cents per share compared with $66.4 million or 20 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenue increased to $658.7 million from $635.2 million. Coutu attributed the jump in revenue on solid operational performance of its generic drug manufacturer, Pro Doc, and franchising activities.

SNC Lavalin (TSX:SNC). Engineering and construction. Down three cents, or 0.08 per cent, at $37.78 on 163,461 shares. The Montreal-based engineering and construction giant has been awarded a contract to upgrade processing equipment at a copper mine in Chile, which has a capital cost of about US$120 million.

Telus Corp. (TSX:T). Telecommunications. Down 13 cents, or 0.21 per cent, at $62.60 on 303,849 shares. The Vancouver-based company is acquiring KinLogix, a Quebec-based provider of electronic medical records. The financial terms of the deal with privately-held KinLogix were not disclosed.