The Toronto stock market was lower Thursday as traders hope that the U.S. Federal Reserve will deliver another round of stimulus to help lift a struggling economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite index slumped 16.5 points to approach noon Thursday at 12,216.12
The Canadian dollar reversed course and gained 0.09 cents at 102.53 cents U.S.
The energy sector was slightly higher, with Cenovus Energy gained 26 cents to $34.35.
But most TSX sectors were in the red.
Gold stocks were down as NovaGold Resources was off a dime to $4.96.
The base metals sector shed ground with December copper unchanged at $3.69 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gave back 32 cents to $30.30.
In corporate news, shares in travel company Transat AT Inc. surged 67 cents or 16.8% to $4.66 as it reported quarterly profit of $9.4 million or 25 cents a share, compared to a year ago loss of $2.8 million. Revenue was down three per cent from a year earlier to $909.1 million.
Empire Company Ltd. says its first-quarter profit rose to $108.9 million or $1.60 per share, up from $89.2 million or $1.31 per share a year earlier. The Nova Scotia-based company is best known for its Sobeys grocery stores but it also is involved in other retail operations, movie theatres and real estate.
Revenue for the company was up 9.7% to $4.56 billion, thanks in part to the acquisition of 236 retail gas locations and convenience stores and its shares gained 92 cents to $58.50.
The U.S. Department of Justice is asking satellite technology company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. to shed some more light on its $875-million U.S. takeover bid for California-based Space Systems/Loral Inc.
The deal, which the company has called "a game changer" will boost MacDonald, Dettwiler’s role as a supplier of commercial communications satellites. MacDonald, Dettwiler shares lost $3.02 or 5.6% to $50.80 on top of a 7% slide on Wednesday.
A New Jersey court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. that accused a group of hedge funds of conspiring with financial analysts to drive down its share price.
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Donald Coburn dismissed the Toronto-based insurance and financial services company’s case with prejudice, preventing similar claims in the future, but without costs, on Wednesday. Fairfax said it would appeal the decision and its shares were unchanged at $369.
The U.S. central bank ends its two-day meeting on interest rates later today and will release its statement at 12:30 p.m. EDT. That will be followed by a news conference with Fed chairman Ben Bernanke at 2 p.m.
The most optimistic scenario for investors would be a third round of purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities to keep interest rates low, encourage lending and support the slow recovery of the housing sector.
In two previous bond-buying programs, the Fed bought more than $2 trillion U.S. of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities after the 2008 financial crisis.
One median estimate suggested the Fed would target a further $500 billion U.S. this time around.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada’s New Housing Price Index rose 0.1% in July, after a 0.2% increase in June.
The agency also said that Canadian industries operated at 81.0% of their production capacity in the second quarter, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter. The manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors made comparable contributions to the increase.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sifted off 2.11 points to 1,280.54
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower at lunch time. Information technology stocks got bruised 1.3%, while consumer staples and utilities ducked back 0.7% each.
The two stalwarts were financials, up 0.2%, and energy, inching ahead 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks inched higher Thursday, as investors wait to hear whether the Federal Reserve is planning any new stimulus action to boost the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 20.86 points by noon to 13,354.20
The S&P 500 index gained 1.30 points, to 1,437.86, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.65 points to 3,119.97.
Shares of Facebook pulled back slightly from the one-month high reached a day earlier. Facebook's stock has gained nearly 13% over the past five days, but at $21 U.S., it's still a far cry from its IPO price of $38 U.S..
Apple's stock edged higher, a day after the tech giant unveiled the iPhone 5.
Aerospace companies BAE Systems and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. said they were in merger talks Wednesday. Shares of both companies declined sharply Thursday.
Retailer Pier 1 Imports reported strong second-quarter earning Thursday morning and raised its full-year guidance, but shares slipped.
The Federal Open Market Committee will release its policy statement at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by a press conference with Fed chair Ben Bernanke at 2:15 p.m. ET. Hopes have been running high for the central bank to announce a new round of bond buying, known as quantitative easing or QE3.
Bernanke suggested in a speech late last month that the Fed was prepared to put forth a new asset-purchasing program. The weak August jobs report added weight to that argument.
On the economic slate, the U.S. Labor Department reported initial jobless claims increased to 382,000 for the week ended September 8, up 15,000 from the week earlier, and worse than expected.
The U.S. Bureaus of Labor Statistics reported producer prices rose 1.7% in August, marking the largest monthly jump since June 2009 and higher than expected.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained back lost ground, lowering yields to 1.73% from Wednesday’s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices for September delivery tacked on 94 cents to $97.96 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery slipped $1 to $1,734.70 U.S. an ounce
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