The Toronto stock market was down Thursday, depressed by earnings reports, poor economic data and a stronger U.S. dollar which drove commodity prices lower.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was off its triple-digit lows of the day, but still fell 69.91 points to finish at 11,274.20
The materials sector was down as market heavyweight Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported its fourth-quarter profit was down 69% from a year ago to $243.6 million and sales revenue also fell. The company’s shares slipped $5.32 or 4.56% to $111.24.
Elsewhere in the fertilizer sector, BHP Billiton Canada Inc. has agreed to pay about $341 million in cash to acquire Athabasca Potash Inc. in a friendly agreement. The offer is the equivalent of $8.35 per Athabasca share. Athabasca shares jumped $1.59 or 23.73% to $8.29.
The industrials sector was down as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd reported that its profit in the fourth quarter was up 3% to $194 million from the comparable period of 2008. Total revenue was down 16% to $1.1 billion and its shares dropped $1.61 to $52.80.
The gold sector stepped back, even though Goldcorp Inc. moved up seven cents to $38.12
The base metals sector dropped in strength, with March copper down 11 cents at $3.11 U.S. First, Teck Resources were unchanged at $37.05 while Labrador Iron Mines Holdings was up $1.38 or 32% to $5.69.
The energy sector was off as EnCana Corp. lost 43 cents to $33.01 and Suncor Energy declined 38 cents to $34.33.
The financial sector slipped with Bank of Montreal $1.15 lower at $52.85.
In other earnings news, electronics manufacturer Celestica reported a quarterly profit of $31.1 million U.S. or 13 cents per diluted share. That compared with a loss of $822.2 million U.S. or $3.58 per share a year ago, when the company took a one-time charge of $850.5 million U.S.
Revenue was down from $1.94 billion U.S. last year but in line with the average analyst estimate. Its shares were ahead three cents at $10.57.
The Canadian dollar eased 0.02 cents to 93.75 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower Thursday, weighed mostly by global base metals, down 1.9%, health-care stocks, sliding 1.4%, and industrials, sagging 1.3%.
Only telecoms forged out some gains, 0.1% gains at that.
The TSX Venture Exchange shaved off 7.58 points to 1,501.80, while the Nasdaq Canada index actually gained 2.63 points to 700.90.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks trimmed losses by the close Thursday, but remained deep in the red, with techs falling after cautious outlooks from Qualcomm and Motorola. Ongoing worries about the labor market also gave investors a reason to retreat.
The Dow Jones Industrials ended the day down 115.70 points, or 1.1%, to 10,120.46. The much broader S&P 500 stuttered 12.97 points to 1,084.53, while the tech-rich Nasdaq index gave back 42.41 points to 2,179.00
The Dow & S&P 500 closed at nearly three-month lows and the Nasdaq closed at a two-month low.
Stock declines were broad based, with 24 of 30 Dow components falling, led by IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, McDonald's, 3M and Caterpillar
The S&P 500 rallied 23% last year and gained 65% since the March 2009 bottom. So far, in 2010, the S&P 500 has lost just short of 3%, as of Thursday's close.
Experts expressed the opinion that stocks may be in for more selling in the short run.
Weaker-than-expected economic readings on durable goods orders and unemployment were also in play Thursday, overshadowing President Obama's push for jobs. Ford Motor's first annual profit in four years and other positive profit news were mostly ignored.
Later in the day, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was confirmed for a second term after heavy lobbying by Democrats and the Obama administration.
Worries that Bernanke's term might not be renewed were among the factors that roiled markets last week. But concerns about the Obama administration's plans to impose greater regulations on banks and China's lending curbs really drove the selling, sending the major gauges down 5% in three session.
Technology in particular had a rough session Thursday, with telecom and semiconductors leading the decline.
Some experts said that a weak outlook from Qualcomm was dragging on semiconductors and, by extension, the broad technology sector. Motorola also gave a weak outlook, adding to the selling pressure.
In addition, the Nasdaq's run over the last year has outpaced that of the other major indexes and investors may be looking to cash out, particularly amid broader worries about the economy and banking sector.
Qualcomm, a maker of chips and other gear used in mobile phones, warned late Wednesday that a more mild outlook for the economy this year has caused it to cut back expectations.
The company cut its earnings and revenue outlook for the current quarter and the forecast overshadowed its better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Shares fell 14% in heavy trading.
A number of chip and telecom shares fell in response. Motorola warned Thursday that it expected to post a loss in the current quarter as it spends more to launch new smartphones. The telecom also reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit that reversed a year-ago loss and stronger smartphone shipments than expected.
But investors focused on the outlook, sending the stock down by about 11%.
In his State of the Union Address Wednesday night, the president said that boosting employment is his administration's "number-one focus in 2010" and that he was calling for a new jobs bill.
He said the administration will work on beefing up hiring in the short term and creating sustainable jobs that grow wages in the longer term.
Economically speaking, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 470,000 last week, down from a revised 478,000 the previous week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought claims would fall to 450,000.
Continuing claims, a measure of individuals who have been receiving benefits for a week or more, fell to 4,602,000 from 4,659,000 the previous week versus expectations for 4,593,000 claims.
A separate report showed that December durable goods orders, a measure of manufacturing, rose 0.3% after falling 0.4% in the previous month. Economists expected orders to rise 2%.
Ford Motor reported its first profitable year since 2005 and said it expects to make money again in 2010. The company earned $2.7 billion U.S. in 2009, or 86 cents U.S. per share, easily surpassing analysts' expectations that it would post a loss of 31 cents U.S. per share.
In the fourth quarter, Ford said it earned 43 cents U.S. a share, trouncing estimates and marking a big turnaround from the $1.40 U.S. per share loss it reported in fourth-quarter 2008.
After a brutal 2008, the broad auto sector has been recovering this year. However, Ford's recovery has outpaced rivals. The company said it benefited from increased market share in the United States and Europe, a pickup in auto sales and cost cutting.
Three Dow companies reported results Thursday morning.
3M reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped forecasts, due to stronger demand for its products, in particular, the units that make products for auto makers and computer and television makers. The company also raised its earnings forecast for 2010. Nonetheless, shares fell 3%.
AT&T reported higher quarterly earnings that met estimates on lower quarterly revenue that slightly surpassed estimates. The company said it added 2.7 million new wireless subscribers, thanks to continued demand for smartphones, e-readers and other electronic devices. Shares inched higher.
Procter & Gamble reported weaker earnings and stronger revenue in its fiscal second quarter. However, results surpassed estimates as the consumer products maker cut costs on its products, which include brands such as Pampers and Charmin. Shares gained 2%.
Apple unveiled the new iPad on Wednesday, the 1.5-pound, half-inch wide tablet computer that falls between a smartphone and a laptop. After seesawing Wednesday, Apple shares slipped Thursday.
Treasury prices dipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.65% from Wednesday’s 3.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil tacked on 16 cents to $73.83 U.S.
Gold prices lost a dollar to $1,086 U.S.
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