Toronto’s main stock index opened marginally higher on Wednesday, as appetite for riskier assets lost steam on disappointing euro-zone data and doubts about early central bank action to tackle declining global growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite index inched higher by 7.88 points, in the first hour to begin the day Wednesday at 11,871.38, after sprouting 200 points higher Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar moved higher 0.13 cents Tuesday to 100.44 cents U.S.
Among stocks to watch this morning, Surge Energy Inc., whose second-quarter profit jumped four-fold on higher oil and natural gas liquids production.
Enbridge Inc. on Tuesday restarted an oil pipeline that ships Canadian crude to Chicago area refiners, 11 days after it spilled more than 1,000 barrels of crude onto a Wisconsin field.
Three cable companies have banded together to call on Canadian regulators to block BCE Inc's planned $3-billion takeover of Astral Media arguing the deal would reduce competition and lead to higher fees for viewers.
In a press conference on Tuesday, the chief executives of Cogeco Cable Inc, Eastlink and Quebecor Inc said the Astral deal would harm the broadcasting industry and lead to higher costs for programming services.
Endeavour Mining Corp. said it will buy Avion Gold Corp for $389 million in an all-stock deal as it looks to expand in West Africa.
Allied Nevada Gold Corp. posted a 69% rise in quarterly profit on higher gold prices and lower costs.
Brookfield Residential Properties Inc. reported a 16% increase in second-quarter profit on improved selling prices and higher order bookings.
Trilogy Energy Corp. said its second-quarter profit plunged on weak natural gas prices and the company cut its production forecast for the full year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sidled back 1.66 points to 1,188.90. The Nasdaq Canada index added 3.56 points to 350.69.
In all, nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups began the day positive. Telecoms were 1.1% higher, followed by information technology, up 0.9% and global base metals, up 0.7%.
The five laggards were weighed by energy and utilities, each slicing off 0.3% of their respective strength, and financials, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday, following a string of gains that put all three major indexes at their highest levels since early May.
The Dow Jones industrial average faded five points, to 13,163.60
The S&P 500 dropped 1.95 points to 1,399.40. The Nasdaq shed 5.53 points to 3,010.33
On the corporate front, firms including Macy's and Polo Ralph Lauren reported their quarterly results before the bell, while News Corp reports will report after the closing bell.
About 85% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their quarterly results, and earnings are on pace to grow just 0.6% -- the slowest pace since the third quarter of 2009.
On the bright side, 64% of the companies that have reported so far have topped Wall Street expectations, higher than the average rate of 62% over the past decade.
Priceline shares were sharply lower after the online travel company's forecast for the third quarter fell short of analyst expectations. Priceline blamed Europe's debt crisis and "the viability of the euro" for the slowdown.
Disney shares dipped Wednesday, after the media giant reported quarterly results that beat earnings expectations but missed on revenue on late Tuesday.
Dean Foods shares jumped after the company boosted its profit forecast for the year.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard climbed after the company unexpectedly boosted its third-quarter forecast.
Investors are digesting the latest round of corporate results, while keeping an eye on news from Europe and the world's central banks.
England's central bank released its quarterly inflation report Wednesday, and was gloomy in its outlook. The Bank of England slashed its forecast for economic growth in Britain to 2% annually in two years, down from its earlier estimate of 2.6%. The central bank also trimmed its inflation outlook.
Economically speaking, productivity increased 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts were expecting the figure to rise 1.5%.
Labour costs rose 1.7% last quarter, higher than the expected 0.4% increase.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, pushing the yield down to 1.62% from 1.63% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for September delivery gained 34 cents to $94.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery fell $2.90 to $1,612.60 U.S. an ounce.
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