Equity markets in Toronto stumbled slightly on Thursday after hitting a two-year high the previous session, with a broad selloff led by miners as earnings season produced some negative surprises.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 11.52 points – off its lows of the morning -- to greet noon at 13,443.81
The Canadian dollar regained 0.44 cents to 95.89 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold Corp fell 5.6% to $20.39 after the world's top gold producer said it was suspending construction of a massive project in South America.
Regulators halted construction on the Chilean side of the Pascua-Lama project last spring, citing serious environmental violations, while unionized Chilean workers have also threatened to strike.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc weighed heavily, falling 4.5% to $109.17 after Canada's largest publicly-traded drug maker posted a quarterly net loss and cut its full-year revenue outlook.
In the energy sector, Suncor Energy Inc, said it was moving ahead with a multibillion-dollar oil sands project. The stock gained 0.4% to $38.13.
Aircraft maker Bombardier plunged 8.3% to $4.83 after its profit fell on fewer plane orders and contract issues in its train unit.
The TSX index had risen sharply in recent weeks, as evidence mounted that the U.S. Federal Reserve would be in no hurry to slow its monetary stimulus and China's economic slowdown stabilized.
Faster growth in China should provide Canada's stock market with a major boost, given the outsized role that resource companies play in the index.
China said on Wednesday that it expects steady foreign trade this year and next. Its thirst for raw materials is a boon to Canada's many producers in this sector.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that the economy rose 0.3% in August, after increasing 0.6% in July and dipping 0.5% in June. Market call was for growth of 0.1%. An increase in oil and gas extraction and widespread gains in service industries were the main contributors to the August growth.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 9.94 points to 954.73
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell modestly Thursday morning, one day after the Federal Reserve said that it will do exactly what the market wanted. The Fed will keep buying $85 billion U.S. a month in bonds.
The Dow Jones Industrials fought its way to within 5.67 points of the breakeven point, to pause for lunch 15,613.10
The S&P 500 index remained negative 1.16 points to 1,762.15. The NASDAQ moved into the green by 3.22 points to 3,933.84.
Facebook faked out investors Wednesday night. The social media site's stock spiked 15% after hours when it announced that earnings and revenues easily beat forecasts thanks to strong mobile growth.
But investors became spooked when the company said during its conference call that the number of teen users who were visiting the social networking site on a daily basis had fallen. Facebook's stock fell in morning trading.
China's equivalent of Craigslist, 58.com, debuted Thursday, and shares quickly shot up more than 40%.
Expedia's stock jumped more than 18% on better-than-expected earnings.
Exxon Mobil reported a sharp drop in profits but the oil company's shares still rallied Thursday.
Estee Lauder's shares rose after the makeup company reported an uptick in third quarter sales.
AB InBev, the brewer of Anheuser Busch, reported Wednesday that sales and profit jumped in the third quarter.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped, raising yields to 2.54% from Wednesday’s 2.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 54 cents to $96.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $25.80 to $1,323.50 U.S. an ounce.
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