Stocks in Canada’s biggest market were slightly higher Wednesday amid lower commodity prices and earnings misses from Canada's energy sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 15.94 points to close Wednesday at 12,761.59
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 100.44 cents U.S.
Suncor Energy shares fell $1.82, or 5.3%, to $32.56, after it said late Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net loss was $562 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with net earnings of $1.43 billion, or 91 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Results at the country's biggest energy company were impacted by a $1.49-billion charge related to its long-shelved and economically "challenged" Voyageur oilsands upgrader.
Without the Voyageur charge, Suncor’s operating earnings were $1 billion in the quarter, or 65 cents per share. That missed the average analyst estimate of 76 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
In the energy sector, Husky Energy Inc. also missed expectations. Husky's quarterly net income was $474 million, or 48 cents per share, down from $526 million or 53 cents per share a year earlier. Husky’s adjusted income amounted to 50 cents per share, six cents per share below the consensus estimate and its shares were off 28 cents to $31.09.
The consumer staples sector led gainers with convenience store chain Alimentation Couche-Tard ahead $2.35, or 4.7%, to $51.59.
The tech sector was also supportive as BlackBerry gained another seven cents to $16.01 on hopes for the new BlackBerry 10 product lineup which was unveiled a week ago. The Z10 touchscreen was made available to Canadian consumers Tuesday.
The financials sector was up while Royal Bank rose 76 cents to $62.80.
The gold sector was ahead while Barrick Gold Corp. gained 20 cents to $32.62.
In the base metals sector, March copper on the Nymex slipped three cents to $3.74 U.S. a pound. Thompson Creek Metals stock was unchanged at $4.01.
In other earnings news, WestJet Airlines Ltd. shares subtracted 18 cents to $22.37 after it said net earnings in the most recent quarter were $60.9 million or 46 cents per diluted share on revenue of $860.6 million. That was up more than 70 per cent from net earnings of $35.6 million or 26 cents per share on revenue of $781.5 million in the same 211 period.
Full-year profit soared 63% to $242.4 million from $148.7 million. WestJet also boosted its quarterly dividend by two cents to 10 cents per share.
TMX Group Limited shares advanced $1.27 to $56.75 as it posted a profit of $32.8 million or 61 cents a share in the final quarter of 2012. Revenue came in at $181.1 million.
On an adjusted basis, the company that operates Canada’s largest stock exchange reported 95 cents per share of earnings after excluding the cost related to some acquisitions and to its restructuring last year.
Intact Financial Corp. says its net profit soared to $181 million in the fourth quarter, as the property and casualty insurer benefited from improved operating results and higher investment gains. The company also says its quarterly dividend will rise by 10% to 44 cents per share, but its stock backtracked by $2.03, or 3.1%, to $63.65.
On the economic beat, the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was announced this hour, and was found to be 58.9 by the end of January. The corresponding Ivey PMI figure for December 2012 was 52.8; the figure for January 2012 was 64.1 and for January 2011 was 46.8.
A figure above 50 shows an increase in purchasing while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 3.55 points to end the day at 1,211.72
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive on the day, led by consumer staples, ahead 1.7%, while telecoms were up 0.5% and global base metals were up 0.4%.
The two laggards were energy, off 0.8%, and utilities, retreating 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors weighed concerns about Europe against the latest corporate results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average marched doggedly ahead 7.22 points to 13,986.50
The S&P 500 index picked up 0.8 points to 1,512.09. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite gave back 3.10 points to 3,168.48
After crossing 14,000 for the first time in more than five years last week, the Dow continues to flirt with that threshold and is just over 200 points away from its all-time intraday high of 14,198. The S&P 500 is also at its highest level since 2007, inching closer to a new all-time high.
With no big economic reports to set the tone, investors focused on earnings.
Overall, quarterly results have been better than expected. Of the 294 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results so far, 188 have beat analysts' expectations, according to S&P Capital IQ.
Time Warner posted better-than-expected earnings and hiked its dividend by 11%.
Shares of Irish neuroscience biotech company Elan fell 9% after the company said it would pay $3.25 billion U.S. to end its collaboration with Biogen Indec
Disney shares rose, a day after the media company reported earnings and revenues that beat analysts' forecasts.
Zynga's results also came in ahead of forecasts late Tuesday. Shares rallied more than 10%.
News Corp, Yelp and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters report earnings after the bell.
Aside from earnings, investors are starting to worry about the latest phone launch from BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion. News outlets reported short or nonexistent lines Tuesday at stores Canada, where the company is based.
Hewlett-Packard shares rose for a second day, following its publicly stated threat to steal customers away from Dell, which announced plans to go private.
3M shares rose after the company announced late Tuesday
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury sparked, lowering yields to 1.97% from Tuesday’s 2.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched forward nine cents to $96.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.90 to $1,678.40 U.S. an ounce.
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