Canada's main stock index was in negative territory on Thursday as a drop in gold-mining shares offset gains in most other sectors, while investors continued to digest U.S. Federal Reserve comments on its policy outlook.
The S&P/TSX composite index slid 27.59 points to greet noon at 15,431.29
The Canadian dollar gained 0.35 cents to 91.28 cents U.S.
Financials advanced as Royal Bank of Canada climbed 0.5% to $82.85, and Bank of Montreal added 0.8% to $85.52.
The gold-mining sector shed strength, with Goldcorp losing 2.5% to $26.66 and Barrick Gold declining 2% to $17.53.
In corporate news, Penn West Petroleum said it was strengthening its accounting practices after a review uncovered irregularities that forced the company to restate some of its previous results. Shares of the oil producer jumped 10.7% to $8.56.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reports that just as many Canadians were on the pogey in July as the month before. The number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in July totalled 499,300, little changed from the previous month.
Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of beneficiaries decreased 2.9% or 14,900.
Also, the agency said Canadian investors added $9.7 billion of foreign securities to their portfolios in July, the largest such investment since April 2007. Meanwhile, foreign investors acquired $5.3 billion of Canadian securities, mostly corporate instruments.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 2.40 points to 970.11.
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by noon ET, with gold fading 1.6%, metals and mining weakening 1.5%, and materials down 1.3%.
The five gainers were led by financials, up 0.4%, consumer discretionaries up 0.3%, and telecoms better by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were higher on Thursday, sending the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average above their previous closing highs.
The Dow Jones Industrials bolted higher 87.53 points to 17,244.38.
The S&P 500 added 8.04 points to 2,009.61. The NASDAQ moved forward 24.57 points to 4,586.74.
Alibaba is expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning. The initial public offering could raise over $25 billion U.S., making it the biggest ever.
Yahoo! Inc which has a nearly 23% stake in Alibaba has been riding the pre-IPO wave and rose 1.24%.
Rite Aid Corp. is tumbling 14% after the drugstore chain slashed its outlook, blaming generic drugs.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. sank 17% after earnings fell short of hopes and the company cut its forecast for the year late Wednesday.
Better-than-expected reading on jobless claims was countered by disappointing data from the housing market. Applications for jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level since mid-July, signaling that employers are laying off very few workers, according to government data released Thursday.
However, construction started on new U.S. homes tumbled in August, pulling back after a surge in July, signaling some shakiness in the housing market’s recovery, according to government data released Thursday.
China’s central bank cut short-term borrowing costs for banks on Thursday, the same week it announced a cash injection into the country’s five biggest banks.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, raising yields to 2.62% from Wednesday’s 2.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.26 to $93.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices went down 10 dollars to $1,225.90 U.S. an ounce.
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