A slump Thursday by technology stocks pushed Canadian equities lower points, snapping a two-day winning streak by Toronto’s main stock market
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day off 31.45 points to 11,466.42
The Canadian dollar was up 0.62 of a cent to 97.70 cents U.S.
The information technology sector dipped, Research in Motion shares, down 36 cents, or 3.3%, to $10.64, among the biggest decliners in the group.
RIM announced Thursday the nomination of financier Timothy Dattels to its board, replacing former Telefonica SA executive Antonio Viana-Baptista. Dattels is a senior partner at TPG Capital L.P. in San Francisco and former partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The appointment did little to satisfy shareholders looking for a more dramatic revamping of the struggling Blackberry-maker’s board. RIM shares are off about 70% over the past 12 months.
Also making a notable move were Class B shares of Transat, down 37 cents, or 8.5%, to $3.99, after the travel agent and tour operator reported second-quarter losses and financial results that fell short of analyst estimates.
Elsewhere, in earnings news Hockey equipment company Bauer Performance Sports Ltd. is buying Cascade Helmets Holdings Inc. for $64 million U.S. in a bid to expand its lacrosse business and acquire the company’s patented helmet technology. Bauer shares were off two cents at $8.04.
Some gold stocks nevertheless were down, despite making headway previously this week. Among those hit hardest were NovaGold Resources, falling 16 cents, or 2.6%, to $6.12, and New Gold Inc. , down 15 cents, or 1.4% to $10.34.
Offsetting Thursday losses was the strength in energy supported by the rise in oil prices. Crude-oil futures for July continued to strengthen after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, at a meeting in Vienna, left their collective production ceiling unchanged.
Among energy plays, Imperial Oil gained 75 cents, or 1.8%, to $43.21, while Suncor faded 34 cents, or 1.2% to $28.52, and Canadian Natural Resources moved forward 16 cents, or 0.6% to $27.28.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada noted this morning that its new housing price index kept its momentum going, climbing 0.2% in April, following a 0.3% hike in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.45 points to 1,252.33. The Nasdaq Canada index moved into the green by 0.38 points to 366.05
All but four of the Toronto subgroups were down on the day. Information technology slumped 2%, consumer staples were down 1.1%, and industrials sagged 0.6%
The four gainers were led by health-care, up 1%,, while metals and mining picked up 0.8%, and global base metals acquired 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks advanced Thursday amid growing speculation and hope that the Federal Reserve may soon pull the trigger on more economic stimulus in light of a weakening job market.
The Dow Jones Industrials soared 155.53 points, or 1.2%, to end Thursday at 12,651.90
The S&P 500 was 14.22 points better, at 1,329.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index improved 17.72 points to 2,836.33
Shares of cellphone maker Nokia dropped after the Finnish company announced it was cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide, and warned that competition in the smart phone business would hurt results somewhat more than expected in the second quarter.
Shares of meat producer Smithfield Foods slipped after the company reported a bigger-than-forecast drop in earnings.
Shares of grocery chain Kroger rose, after it reported a better than expected increase in earnings and a $1-billion U.S. share buyback program.
Yammer shares popped on reports that Microsoft is talks with the business social networking firm to buy it out.
The Fed holds a two-day monetary policy meeting next week, with chairman Ben Bernanke scheduled to hold a news conference at the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday afternoon. Calls for the Fed to take more simulative stems have been growing for several months.
Hopes are that the central bank will either launch a third round of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing or QE3, or extend its current policy of Operation Twist, which is set to expire at the end of June.
Worries remain heightened about Spain, after rating agencies Moody's and Egan-Jones both downgraded the country on Wednesday. Moody's, which left Spain's rating just above junk status, warned that it is at risk of additional downgrades. It cited concern about Spain's debt load, its bleak economic prospects and its access to credit in private markets.
The struggling country recently requested up to €100 billion from the European Union to recapitalize its ailing banks. But with the higher borrowing costs, investors are worried the country will need even more help.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department reported filing for initial unemployment benefits rose to 386,000 during the week ending June 9, up from the revised 380,000 the previous week. That was a higher than expected reading for that closely-watched snapshot of the still struggling jobs market.
The department also reported that retail prices fell 0.3% in May compared to April levels, driven down by the falling gas prices. It was the first drop in the Consumer Price Index in two years, and a slightly bigger drop than forecast.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged a mite, raising yields to 1.61% from Wednesday’s 1.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil jumped $1.62 to $84.29 U.S.
Gold futures for August delivery edged up 90 cents to $1,620.30 U.S. an ounce.
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