The Toronto stock market was flat Tuesday afternoon as traders coped with heightened uncertainty over whether a new Italian government will follow through on crucial financial reforms to deal with that country’s huge debt.
The S&P/TSX composite index eked its way higher by 9.57 points to end Tuesday at 12,660.44
The Canadian dollar was off 0.04 at 97.44 cents U.S.
The TSX found some support from the financial sector after Bank of Montreal said Tuesday that its net income slipped to $1.05 billion or $1.53 per share from $1.12 billion or $1.63 per share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $1.52, beating analyst expectations by four cents.
BMO shares hiked 88 cents to $63.81.
The TSX gold sector advanced as Goldcorp Inc. rose 78 cents to $34.42.
The metals and mining sector was slightly higher while March copper was up two cents at $3.57 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals rose 49 cents to $18.90.
The energy sector fell as Suncor Energy slipped 46 cents to $30.91.
The information technology sector led decliners, as CGI Group fell 58 cents to $26.37 while Wi-Lan Inc. dropped 11 cents to $4.31.
In other earnings news, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. said net income attributable to common shareholders was $54.6 million or 38 cents per diluted share in the last months of calendar 2012, up from $8.4 million or six cents per diluted share in the same 2011 quarter. Revenue fell to $1.2 billion from $1.24 billion and its shares were up 71 cents to $13.89.
The initial results of the Italian election showed voters were fed up with the austerity measures enacted by the previous technocratic government led by Mario Monti, who was brought in to deal with the country’s huge debt levels.
But voter anger against the Monti government was channeled through several outlets. The centre-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani appears to have won a narrow victory in the lower house of parliament while the Senate looks split with no party in control.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 9.09 points to 1,131.91
In all, eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups closed the day in the green. Gold vaulted 1.2%, while materials improved 0.8%, and global base metals gained 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by information technology, off 1.1%, while health-care stocks suffered 0.9% and energy fell back 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
An early morning market rally on the heels of positive economic data and corporate earnings gained momentum immediately after U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke started speaking.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 115.96 points to greet the closing bell at 13,900.10
The S&P 500 index added 8.83 points to 1,496.88. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite grew 13.40 points to 3,129.65.
The Dow initially jumped 125 points as Bernanke explained why the Fed's bond buying program and low interest rates should continue.
"Economic activity in the United States," he said, "has continued to expand at a moderate, if somewhat uneven pace."
Shortly thereafter, all three indexes pulled back as reality set in. Still, by mid afternoon, stocks were solidly higher.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot reported strong year-end results, providing more evidence of a housing rebound. The company reported a 7% gain in same-store sales for the fourth quarter.
Shares of department store chain Macy's surged after the company reported a 20% increase in fourth-quarter profits and a 3.7% increase in sales at stores open for more than one year.
Best Buy's stock dropped nearly 2% after the troubled electronic retailer announced that it would cut 400 jobs at its headquarters as part of a plan to cut $150 million U.S. in expenses.
Meanwhile, an Italian election that failed to produce a clear winner whipsawed U.S. stocks Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 suffering their biggest one-day declines of the year.
Election results released by the Italian government late Monday showed a narrow victory for the centre-left coalition headed by Pier Luigi Bersani in the lower house of parliament.
But former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and other anti-austerity parties were not far behind, and the results pointed to gridlock in the Italian Senate. According to Bloomberg, Berlusconi is weighing an alliance that could break the gridlock.
Economically speaking, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index for the fourth quarter of 2012 showed that home prices jumped 7.3%, the third straight quarter of year-over-year gains in prices.
Consumer confidence increased in February. The U.S. Conference Board's index showed that confidence jumped to 69.0 from 58.6 in January.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury picked up more ground, dropping yields to 1.88% from Monday’s 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 63 cents to $92.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $26.80 to $1,613.70 U.S. an ounce.
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