Stocks in Toronto fell midday Thursday as a string of disappointing earnings reports and a fresh slump in drug maker Valeant offset gains among energy stocks as oil prices edged higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved lower 67.16 points to greet noon at 13, 594.66
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.09 cents at 75.96 cents U.S.
The most influential weights on the index included Magna International Inc, which fell 12.5% to $60.88 after reporting a drop in quarterly sales which the auto parts maker blamed on a strong U.S. dollar.
Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc slumped 16% to $102, its lowest level since mid-2013, after the U.S. Senate on Wednesday launched a probe into its strategy of sharply hiking prices on drugs it acquires.
Telus Corp declined 2.8% to $42.51 after reporting a slowdown in wireless growth and a plan to cut 1,500 jobs.
Shares of Ontario electric utility Hydro One Ltd jumped 5.2% to $21.57 on its trading debut.
The stock was priced at $20.50 last week, at the high end of a previously announced range.
The materials group retreated as copper prices declined 1.4% to $5,060 U.S. a tonne.
Canadian Natural Resources jumped 4.8% to $33.48 after the country's largest independent petroleum producer reduced its 2015 budget for the fifth time.
On the economic slate, Western University’s Ivey Purchasing Managers Index stood by the end of October at 53.1, compared to September’s 53.7 reading, and 51.2 last October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 3.48 points to 538.68
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by noon, as energy moved higher 0.9%, real-estate gained 0.5%, and utilities inched up 0.2%
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by metals and mining, dropping 5.4%, gold, drooping 3.5%, and consumer discretionary stocks, falling 2.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a range Thursday, trying to hold the upward trend for the month so far, ahead of Friday's key jobs report.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 10.3 points to 17,857.28, falling back into negative territory for 2015 in intraday trade, as IBM and Chevron weighed.
The S&P 500 slumped 1.33 points to 2,100.98, as materials led most sectors lower. Financials was the greatest advancer.
The NASDAQ index dropped 15.49 points to 5,126.99, as biotechs lost 2%, and Apple and Microsoft also traded lower.
The major averages held mostly lower in choppy trade after struggling to hold opening gains. The indexes are still on track for gains of about 1% for the week.
Shares of Facebook held about 4.5% higher after briefly gaining more than 6%. The social media giant reported earnings after
Wednesday's close that beat on both the top and bottom line.
One expert attributed the declines in health care and biotech stocks to negative news around major firms such as Valeant and Celgene.
Celgene reported its smallest revenue growth in five quarters due to slower sales of its two key cancer drugs
Disney, Kraft Heinz, Monster Beverage, News Corp., Nvidia, Symantec, TripAdvisor, Dreamworks Animation, and Shake Shack are among the companies reporting after the close.
Ahead of Friday's report on October non-farm payrolls, weekly jobless claims came in at 276,000, above expectations.
Third-quarter productivity increased at a 1.6% annual rate, while labour costs rose 1.4%.
U.S. layoffs fell 14% in October from the prior month, a 1.3% decrease year-over-year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell, raising yields to 2.25% from Wednesday’s 2.23%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 48 cents a barrel to $45.84 U.S.
Gold prices slid 63 cents to $1,107.27 U.S. an ounce.
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