Friday, November 20, 2009

04:35 pm EST
Slight drop for TSX
Dell still in focus

Toronto stocks remained slightly lower Friday. Mining and energy stocks leading the modest declines.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index tailed off 20.97 points to 11,579.33

Mining stocks were down, as Inmet lost 2.4% to $67.12 and HudBay dropped 2.7% at $15.26.

Energy stocks were also down, with Canadian Oil Sands jettisoning 2.1% to $29.57.

In corporate news, Agrium added 0.9% to $61.33, after shareholders of Terra Industries voted three nominees of CF Industries Holdings into the company's board, giving the latter a better-hand in the takeover battle involving Agrium.

Softchoice Corp. lost 5.6% to $7.70, after the company said it has entered into a bought deal agreement to sell 2.25 million common shares at $7.75 per share for gross proceeds of about $17 million.

Sun Life Financial President Jon Boscia told Bloomberg the company needs to make an acquisition in the U.S. The stock was up 0.9% to $29.16.

AirIQ Inc. posted third quarter net loss of $397,000 or near breakeven per share, compared to a net loss of $1.2 million or $0.01 per share in the previous-year quarter. Its stock was unchanged at a penny.

The Canadian dollar lost 0.60 cents to 93.46 cents U.S.

ON BAYSTREET

Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine finished the day down. Energy stocks dipped 0.7%, while gold and telecom stocks lost 0.5% each.

The five gainers were led by health-care, advancing 0.9%, information technology, up 0.7%, and utilities, ahead 0.5%.

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.12 to 1,408.06, while the Nasdaq Canada picked up 4.76 to 654.45.

ON WALLSTREET

In New York, stocks closed lower for the third day in a row Friday as investors remained jittery about the economy and the outlook for the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrials lost 14.28 points on the day to 10,318.16. The S&P 500 index slid 3.52 to 1,091. 38, while the Nasdaq tailed off 10.78 points to 2,146.07.

Stocks opened on a low note and slid for most of the session before recovering some ground in the last half hour of trading. The Dow briefly turned positive shortly before the closing bell.

The market has struggled to regain upward momentum in the last three sessions after closing at a 13-month high earlier this week. Worries about the economic recovery, the strengthening dollar and the technology sector have undermined investors' appetite for risk.

Tech shares remained under pressure after PC giant Dell reported weak third-quarter results late Thursday. Dell shares fell 10%.

Homebuilder stocks were down after D.R. Horton posted a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and said conditions in the industry remain challenging. D.R. Horton shares fell 15%.

The dollar rose against rival currencies for the second day in a row, helped by increased demand for safe-haven assets and supportive comments from Federal Reserve officials.

The stronger greenback weighed on the oil market, with crude prices closing below $77 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices recovered from early losses to close at another record high.

Looking ahead, trading is expected to be volatile next week with a busy economic calendar, quarterly results from Hewlett Packard and thin trading volumes due to low participation.

U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and trading will end early on Friday.

D.R. Horton, the nation's second-largest homebuilder, said its quarterly loss narrowed to $231.9 million U.S., or 73 cents a share, in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 30 cents per share.

After the closing bell Thursday, Dell reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit that fell short of Wall Street's estimates.

Also on Thursday, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the semiconductor industry. That came one day after two key software companies issued cautious profit outlooks.

But in other earnings news, retailer Gap said its quarterly profit surged 25%.

Economically speaking, a government report showed more U.S. states suffered rising unemployment rates, though fewer reported joblessness above the national average in October.

Treasury prices were down, raising the yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.36% from Thursday's 3.34%.

The price of a barrel of oil declined 74cents to $76.72 U.S.

Gold prices gained seven dollars to yet another record high at $1,149 U.S.