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

Toronto Stock Exchange (12,065.55 up 69.21 points):

Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX). Miner. Up 21 cents, or 1.14 per cent, at $18.65 on 8.65 million shares. Eight institutional investors are objecting to the decision to pay co-chairman John Thornton a signing bonus pegged at $11.9 million on top of his regular compensation. The investors said they will vote against both the executive compensation resolution and the election of the compensation committee at Barrick's annual meeting next week.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. (TSX:BNC). Drug developer. Up 3.5 cents, or 14.89 per cent, at 27 cents on 8.34 million shares. Fonds de solidarite FTQ, one of the company's largest shareholders, has sold its entire stake in the firm. The labour-sponsored investment fund held about six million shares in Bioniche which represents about a 5.7 per cent stake in the company.

Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI). Miner. Up a penny, or 0.08 per cent, at $11.81 on 6.44 million shares. The gold sector is on the mend, rising 1.42 per cent to end the day at 191.85 points after double-digit losses earlier in the week as the price of the bullion fell.

New Gold Inc. (TSX:NGD). Miner. Up 39 cents, or 5.60 per cent, at $7.35 on 4.84 million shares.

Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Miner. Up two cents, or 0.37 per cent, at $5.45 on 4.78 million shares.

Dalradian Resources Inc. (TSX:DNA). Down two cents, or 2.86 per cent, at 68 cents on 4.47 million shares.

Toronto Venture Exchange (939.07 up 6.13 points):

Brilliant Resources Inc. (TSXV:BLT). Mine explorer. Up a penny, or 25 per cent, at five cents on 3.66 million shares.

Pinecrest Energy Inc. (TSX:PRY). Oil and gas explorer. Down six cents, or 5.77 per cent, at 98 cents on 3.42 million shares.

Companies reporting major news:

BlackBerry (TSX:BB). Wireless technology. Up 39 cents, or 2.83 per cent, at $14.19 on 3.56 million shares. Retailer Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. (TSX:CTC.A) has selected BlackBerry smartphones for its employees to use as their primary business device. Canadian Tire's stock was up 19 cents, or 0.26 per cent, at $73.05 on 113,702 shares.

TransForce (TSX:TFI). Transportation. Down 47 cents, or 2.35 per cent, at $19.53 on 1.24 million shares. The trucking company posted weaker results in the first quarter as energy sector revenues dropped 24 per cent and margins plummeted. Profits fell 37 per cent to $18.9 million compared with the prior year.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2013