The Toronto stock market was little changed Thursday amid a second day of strong gains from commodity prices and solid employment news from the U.S. ahead of the first reading on how the American economy performed during the first quarter.
The S&P/TSX index advanced 45.92 points to begin Thursday at 12,316.35
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.45 cents at 97.96 cents U.S.
The TSX was supported by the base metals sector, as May copper gained six cents to $3.24 U.S. a pound after running up six cents Wednesday on hopes that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates in order to stimulate the economy next Thursday.
Techs were also strong as BlackBerry advanced 27 cents to $15.52.
The consumer staples group was weak. Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. earned $119.5 million or 59 cents per share on sales of $2.49 billion in its latest quarter compared with a profit of $118.8 million or 56 cents per share on sales of $2.39 billion a year ago. Same-store sales were up 2.5% for the quarter but its shares fell 48 cents to $44.22.
Elsewhere on the earnings front, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. is reporting an improved first-quarter profit, with $556 million or 63 cents per share of net income that beat analyst estimates.
However the company’s guidance for the second quarter is estimated at 70-85 cents per share, which was below the consensus estimate of 89 cents per share, its 2013 guidance remains unchanged at between $275 and $3.25 per share. Its shares were down 85 cents to $41.49.
Precision Drilling Corp.’s net income fell to $93 million or 33 cents per diluted share, down 16% from the first quarter of 2012. Its revenue dropped by 7% to $596 million, mainly due to lower North American drilling activity compared with the first quarter of 2012.
Nevertheless, the results were ahead of analyst estimates and Precision Drilling will pay a quarterly dividend of five cents per share on May 15. Its stock was down 0.4 of a cent to $8.01.
Paper and forest product company Domtar Corp. reported Thursday that its adjusted earnings were $33 million or 95 cents per share, down from $61 million or $1.65 a share a year earlier. The adjusted profit was 47 cents short of a consensus estimate of $1.42 per share and its shares fell $5.67 to $70.61.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was stronger by 3.35 points to 955.05
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, led by metals and mining, up 2.7%, information technology, up 2.4% and materials, gaining 1.9%.
The three laggards were consumer staples, financials and telecoms, all sliding 0.2% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday, as investors digest another influx of earnings reports and a better-than-expected report on jobless claims.
The Dow Jones Industrials started the session 60.94 points to 14,737.20
The S&P 500 index climbed 6.93 to 1,585.72. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite soared 28.17 points to 3,297.82
Several companies reported earnings before the market opened.
Exxon Mobil beat earnings forecasts but shares still fell in early trading. UPS also reported a jump in quarterly earnings.
Shares of Safeway tumbled more than 11%, as investors focused on weaker-than-expected sales even though the grocer reported a higher quarterly profit.
Dow Chemical reported better-than-expected earnings, fueled by sales of agricultural products.
Shares of Zynga fell nearly 9%, a day after the online gaming company issued a gloomy forecast.
Amazon and Starbucks report their results after the close.
In other corporate news, Verizon Communications may draw attention after Reuters reported the company had hired advisers to look at a possible $100 billion bid to take full control of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group. Vodafone declined to comment.
General Electric edged higher, a day after finance subsidiary GE Capital decided to nix lending programs for gun purchases in the wake of last year's Newtown massacre.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government announced that initial jobless claims dropped to 339,000 in the latest week, significantly lower than the 351,000 claims that economists were predicting.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped a bit, raising yields to 1.71% from Wednesday’s 1.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gave back 13 cents to $91.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $22.60 to $1,446.30 U.S. an ounce
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