Stocks in New York sailed in the plus zone Tuesday, while their cousins in Toronto had to fight their way above the previous day’s levels.
The S&P TSX Composite Index gained 3.8 points to finish at 8,628.63. Despite the weak showing, analysts say it's still a big improvement from the typical market seen late in 2008.
New York indexes racked up solid advances as some better than expected housing data helped take investors' minds off mixed earnings news and dismal auto sales figures.
TransCanada dropped 80 cents to $32.59. Excluding losses on derivatives, the natural gas transporter earned 53 cents a share, two cents below the average of 11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Material producers fell, led by gold-mining companies, on speculation that a global slowdown will erode demand for all commodities. Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, lost 2% to $43.90. Goldcorp Inc. fell 2.5% to $34.52. Kinross Gold Corp. dropped 2.1% to $20.91.
Research in Motion fell 70 cents to $68.82.
There were also announcements of more cutbacks in Canada's forestry industry.
Tembec is closing mills – some for two weeks, some indefinitely – in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario as pulp and paper market conditions remain soggy. About 1,400 workers will be affected.
And Canfor Corp. said Monday it will reduce production by 83 million board feet by taking a two-week curtailment at its British Columbia and Alberta sawmills starting Feb. 9. The company said it will also remove the third shift at its Quesnel, B.C., operation effective Feb. 23, resulting in a further reduction of 100 million board feet on an annualized basis.
Mega Brands Inc. shares surged as it announced a global licensing agreement with Microsoft Game Studios to make construction toys based on the new Halo Wars video game.
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.72 cents to $81.19 cents U.S.
BAYSTREET
Of the 13 TSX sub-groups, eight finished negative, information technology declining 1.4%, followed by utilities, off 1.2% and gold, down 0.7%.
The five gainers were led by metals and mining, ahead 2.3%, industrials, up 1.0%, while telecommunications and financials tied for third, each up 0.7%.
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 3.57 points, to 869.25, while the NASDAQ Canada index was 1.35 points behind Monday’s close at 547.45
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrials index gained 141.53 to 8,078.36.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index increased 13.07 points to 838.51. The NASDAQ composite index tacked on 21.87 points to 1,516.30
There was a rare glimmer of good news from the U.S. housing sector. The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of pending U.S. home sales for pre-owned homes in December rose 6.3 per cent to 87.7 from an upwardly revised November reading of 82.5. That's better than the 82.3 reading economists expected.
Sales at Ford Motor, Toyota and GM all plunged more than expected in January, with the automaker industry reporting its worst monthly sales in 26 years.
Sales at Ford fell 40% in January, missing forecasts for a drop of 30%. Toyota sales fell 32% in the month, versus forecasts for a drop of 25%.
General Motors sales tumbled 49% in January, versus forecasts for a drop of 38%. Separately, GM said it was offering buyouts to all of its hourly workers in an attempt to cut costs and give nervous workers a way out. Chrysler made a similar announcement Monday.
Better-than-expected results from drugmakers Merck and Schering-Plough, as well as homebuilder D.R. Horton, helped counter the barrage of mixed to gloomy corporate data.
Horton Inc. reported a loss for the most recent quarter that was narrower than analysts anticipated thanks to cost cuts. Results from food processor and ethanol producer Archer Daniels Midland Co. and drug maker Schering Plough also topped estimates.
However, Dow Chemical reported it lost more than $1.5 billion U.S. in the fourth quarter as sales dropped 23% to end one of its worst years on record amid a global slump.
Excluding certain one-time costs, its loss was 62 cents per share – but analysts expected a profit of six cents a share excluding one-time items.
Dow said sales fell to $10.9 billion, far below the $13.3 billion analysts were looking for but its shares were 58 cents higher to $11.63.
And telecommunications equipment maker Motorola lost $3.6 billion in the fourth quarter as it took massive non-cash charges for goodwill impairment and an increase in a deferred tax reserve.
Motorola also said it is suspending its dividend after sales tumbled and the company's chief financial officer is leaving.
Sales were down 26% to $7.1 billion U.S. and its shares fell.
Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.81% from 2.72% Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Yields on the 2-year, 10-year and 30-year Treasurys all hit record lows last month.
U.S. light crude oil for March delivery rose 70 cents to settle at $40.78 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for April delivery fell $14.70 to settle at $892.50 U.S. an ounce
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