The Toronto stock market staggered at the outset, as profit-taking from Research In Motion took precedence following its product launch Wednesday, and as investors digested macroeconomic news from both sides of the border.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index erased 65.16 points to open Thursday at 12,729.28
The Canadian dollar moved higher 0.06 cents to 99.92 cents U.S.
Potash Corp of Saskatchewan reported a bigger-than-expected 38% drop in quarterly profit on Thursday as key potash buyers China and India stayed out of the market, but the company forecast a modest rebound in earnings for 2013. Potash shares gave back 80 cents to $42.39 soon after the opening.
Research In Motion Ltd. on Wednesday unveiled the long-delayed line of smartphones it hopes will put it on the comeback trail, but it disappointed investors by saying U.S. sales of its all-new BlackBerry 10 devices will not start until March. RIM shares collapsed $1.10, or 7.9%, to $12.76.
Other Canadian stocks to watch include Agrium Inc. The fertilizer company’s CEO said it expects North American potash producers to strike a deal with Indian importers in February or March, ending a long standoff. Agrium slid $1.01 to $113.
JDS Uniphase Corp. reported a quarterly profit on higher demand for its products used in broadband networks in the Americas. JDSU shares vaulted $2.37, or 18.4% to $14.80
Rio Tinto Plc said its Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia is on track to reach commercial production in the first half of 2013, countering a media report saying broadband networks in the Americas. Turquoise Hill Resources was considering a temporary halt to construction work because of political issues. Turquoise Hill shares crept up two pennies to $7.89
Among Thursday’s economic data, Statistics Canada reported that the economy forged slightly ahead in November, growing 0.3%, adding on a 0.1% hike in October, The nation’s number crunchers noted that most major industrial sectors increased production in November.
StatsCan also said that lower crude oil prices resulted in a Raw Materials Price Index sinking 2.0%, in December, while industrial product prices were flat compared to October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 0.12 points to 1,222.47
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed mostly by information technology, off 1.9%, while gold and materials each slipped 1.1%.
The two gainers were global base metals, up 0.4%, and telecoms, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks trooped marginally higher at the open Thursday after mixed reports on the job market added to concerns about the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 21.19 points to 13,931.60
The S&P 500 nipped up 2.19 points to 1,504.15. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite recovered 11.15 points to 3,153.46
The Dow is up more than 6% so far in January, while the S&P 500 has climbed 5% and the NASDAQ is up 4%. The Dow is just 2% away from its record high, hit in October 2007, while the S&P 500 is about 5% away from its record high, also reached in October 2007.
In corporate news Thursday, shares of UPS declined after the shipping giant's fourth-quarter earnings came in below of forecasts. The company's guidance for 2013 was also weaker-than-expected.
Shares of Dow Chemical also declined on an earnings miss.
Facebook shares dropped after the firm said late Wednesday that its fourth-quarter mobile user growth had slowed slightly versus the third quarter. Facebook's fourth-quarter earnings and sales beat Wall Street estimates.
On the economic front, the U.S. government reported a jump in initial jobless claims following two weeks of declines. Claims rose 38,000 to 368,000 in the latest week. Analysts were expecting 345,000 claims.
Separately, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported the number of planned job cuts surged 24% to 40,430 in January.
Those figures are worrying ahead of the all-important monthly jobs report due Friday. Analysts are expecting that employers added 180,000 jobs in January, and that the unemployment rate ticked down to 7.7% from 7.8% in December.
Meanwhile, personal income in December rose 2.6%, while spending inched up 0.2%, according to the Commerce Department.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.99% from Wednesday 2.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 76 cents to $97.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $10.50 to $1,669.40 U.S. an ounce.
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