The Toronto stock market managed to hold onto gains Thursday, as economic growth data from China met expectations and traders looked to a two-day summit of European Union leaders.
The S&P/TSX composite index wavered through positive and negative territory Thursday, but finally added 4.87 points to end the session at 12,466.12
The Canadian dollar slid 0.72 cents to 101.53 cents U.S.
Among gold issues, Barrick Gold Corp. faded 73 cents to $38.40.
December copper was one cent lower at $3.74 U.S. a pound following a five-cent run-up Wednesday and the base metals sector lost ground. First Quantum Minerals regained 18 cents to $22.93.
In the oil patch, Canadian Natural Resources shed nine cents to $30.99 as the energy sector drifted lower.
The financial sector was supportive as Manulife Financial advanced 17 cents to $12.55.
Britain’s financial regulator has fined a subsidiary of Sun Life Financial Inc. the equivalent of about $950,000 for what it called "failings" in the governance of its with-profits business. The Financial Services Authority ruling concerns the operation of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.K.) Ltd.
The FSA says the design and operation of the company’s governance arrangements were unclear and inadequate, resulting in a high risk that the interests of policyholders would not be properly protected. However, the FSA didn’t criticize the transactions themselves.
Sun Life shares gained 58 cents to $24.75.
In other corporate developments, Telus Corp. will have a single class of shares after shareholders voted strongly in favour of the plan on Wednesday, defeating a U.S. hedge fund’s attempt to get a premium for holders of the company’s voting shares. Telus voting shares gained 25 cents to $63.14 while its non-voting shares gained 55 cents to $62.83.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale sales improved 0.5% in August to $49.7 billion, reversing a two-month losing trend. The main agents were higher sales in the food, beverage and tobacco sub-sector.
The agency also said that 534,400 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance benefits in August, up 16,400, or 3.2%, from July. The figure had been somewhat stagnant for months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.34 points to 1,312.34
In all, nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups ended positive on the day, led by global base metals, gaining 1%, while metals and mining strengthened 0.9% and financials advanced 0.6%.
The five laggards were weighed by gold, off 2.2%, while materials sank 1.2%, and consumer staples slid 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Thursday as investors focused on the latest corporate results -- particularly weaker-than-expected Google earnings that were released prematurely -- and mixed economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial average staggered 8.06 points to finish Thursday at 13,548.90
The S&P 500 index faded 2.78 to 1,458.13, while the Nasdaq was negative 31.26 to 3,072.87
Technology shares led declines after Google's quarterly report was accidentally released prematurely and the results disappointed investors. Shares fell 9% before trading was halted. Google faulted RR Donnelley for the mishap. Shares of the financial printer sank 2%.
Shares of Dow component Travelers Cos. jumped after the insurer reported that its income more than doubled in the quarter, beating expectations, thanks to lower losses from natural disasters. Verizon shares rose after the phone company posted earnings that met expectations. Shares of IBM continued to slide after the blue chip saw a dip in sales late Tuesday.
Morgan Stanley reported earnings before the opening bell that topped analysts' forecasts, posting earnings per share of 28 cents and revenue of $7.6 billion U.S. -- compared to the 24 cents a share and $6.4 billion U.S. in revenue that had been expected.
U.S.-listed shares of Nokia fell after the Finnish cellphone maker logged its sixth straight quarterly loss.
Asset manager Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, while earnings from Microsoft are due out after the close.
One prognosticator projects third-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 will decline 0.7% from a year ago, the weakest showing in three years.
Shares of Juniper Networks surged after a trade publication reported that it could be taken over by EMC
Economically speaking, a report on initial jobless claims showed that the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits jumped by 46,000 to 388,000 last week. That's higher than the 360,000 claims economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected.
Separately, the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve said manufacturing activity improved in the district during October.
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury drooped, raising the yield to 1.83% from Wednesday’s 1.81%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost six cents to $92.06 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were down $7.60 to $1,743.30 U.S. an ounce.
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