Toronto's main stock index reversed course in a big way today, swinging approximately 200 points as gold futures pulled back quickly sending the subindex to the leading decliner of the day after leading the way a good portion of the session.
The S&P/TSX Composite finished the day trading down by 135.85 points, or 1.04%, to 12916.63.
The price of oil for December delivery is down; losing .70% to $86.45.
Gold for December delivery is red at the moment; down $14.00 at $1,388.80.
The Canadian Dollar is down against the US Dollar at the moment; off by .000089 of a cent to .991865 U.S. cents.
ON THE DATA FRONT --
The new housing price index climbed 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% monthly increase in August, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday, slightly topping estimates of a 0.1% increase in September.
The housing-only component of the new housing price index was flat on a monthly basis and up 3.8% on the year. The land-only component was up 0.5% in September and up 0.2% on the year. The top contributors to the monthly increase were Montreal and Calgary, where higher development fees pushed prices up as builders moved to new areas of those cities.
CLOSING NEWS --
EnCana Corp. was a winner today. Shares of T.ECA closed up 1.42% at $30.10.
Energy leader, Suncor Energy fell today as well; closing down .47% to $35.96.
Gold stocks give it back -- After strong starts, shares of Kinross Gold closed down 3.22% to $18.63, Goldcorp gave back 2.65% to close at $46.63 and gold giant, Barrick Gold dropped .45% to close at $51.25.
Research In Motion Ltd. couldn't recover from the downgrade from analyst, Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers, who cut the phone maker's rating from ''hold'' to ''buy''. Shares of T.RIM closed down 2.29% to $55.46.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
Financial plays are holding down markets some today. CIBC World Markets also raised target prices on most of Canada's biggest banks, but cut Bank of Montreal. Shares of T.BMO are trading down .76% to $60.28.
Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank (T.TD) are also down today; dropping 1.03% to $73.83, while Royal Bank of Canada (T.RY) has seen it shares lose .58% to $54.93.
Shares of Goldcorp are trading up .56% to $48.14 in early afternoon trading.
MORNING NEWS --
Stocks are being paced by big resource companies like Barrick Gold and Cameco Corp, as commodity prices extended their recently rally. Shares of T.ABX are soaring again; up 3.15% to $53.10 and shares of T.CCO are up 5.73% to $38.03.
Pan American Silver Corp. reported unaudited financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2010. Highlights included recording record sales of $161.3 million; an increase of 36% and record mine operating earnings of $60.6 million; an increase of 75%. Shares of T.PAA are up 1.04% to $37.08.
Delphi Energy Corp. is announced record production but also reported a net loss of $1.6 million in the third quarter and a net loss of $1 million for the first nine months of the year. That compares with a loss of almost $3.3 million in the same quarter a year ago and a loss of $9.4 million in the same nine-month period of 2009. Shares of T.DEE are up 3.91% to $2.39.
ON BAYSTREET
One of the TSX Subgroups finished in the green today. Info tech was up .51%.
On the downside -- Gold issues closed down by 2.65%, metals and mining were down by 2.56% and materials finished down by 2.37%.
The TSX Venture Exchange closed down by 36.81 points to 2,005.03, while the Nasdaq Canada index finished in the red; down by 15.83 points to 696.49.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks on Wall Street stumbled into the close as growing concerns about the Fed's stimulus plan that was announced last week that drove stocks into the weekend are now in question.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 60.09 points, or .53% to 11,346.75. The S&P 500 finished down by 9.85 points, or .81%, to 1,213.40. The NASDAQ closed trading in the red as well; down 17.07 points, or .66%, to 2,562.98.
The US Dollar is up against the euro by .0134 and gaining ground against the yen; up .6400.
Oil futures for December delivery are down by $.06 to $87.00.
The 10-year bond yield is down .0290 to 2.625.
IN DATA NEWS --
The US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism released by The Investor's Business Daily / TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, recorded a 46.7 in November, which is slightly higher than October's 46.4 but falling short of the forecasted 47.8.
The U.S. Census Bureau released the Wholesale Inventories at a 1.5% increase in September. Originally, August's revised reading was 1.2%. Market analysts forecasted an improvement, anticipating that inventory growth would slow down this month, increasing only 0.6%.
CLOSING NEWS --
Electric car maker Tesla Motors, Inc. reported late today a third-quarter loss of $34.9 million, or $.38 a share, compared with a loss of $4.6 million, or $.66 cents a share, a year earlier when the company still a private corporation. Shares of TSLA closed down 1.40% to $24.63.
Bank of America led Dow laggards as the Company's announcement to sell an additional 25% of BlackRock. Despite the effort, B of A is still short of the amount of capital it needs to have raised by the year's end deadline at this point. Shares of BAC tumbled 2.62% to $12.27.
Gainers -- Shares of American Public Education Inc. soared after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Shares of APEI closed up 22.31% to $33.11.
Voice enabled software company, BroadSoft Inc. shares soared today after the Company reported third-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates. Shares of BSFT closed up a whopping 43.10% to $14.11.
Decliners -- CardioNet Inc. saw its shares decline after the heart device maker said late today that it would acquire wireless tech company Biotel Inc. for $11 million. Shares of BEAT lost 13.43% to close at $4.90.
Shares of drug maker, Santarus Inc. dropped today after reported a forecast for yearly revenue that would come in below Wall Street’s expectations. Shares of SNTS closed down 8.48% to $3.02.
AFTERNOON UPDATE --
Fins are struggling in the U.S.-- The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund is down 1.03% early this afternoon. Leading the laggards is Marsh & McLennan as it missed earnings estimates slightly today. Shares of MMC are down 2.81% to $25.25.
Law suit -- J.P. Morgan announced that two class action lawsuit have been filed against them alleging fraud following it September decision to halt foreclosures. Shares of JPM are trading down .35% to $40.37.
The Energy Information Administration increased its expectations for U.S. fuel consumption this year as it reported its monthly outlook today. The Administration also increased its expectations for domestic oil production. Additionally, the estimate for global oil demand was increased due to ''stronger-than-expected growth in European oil demand ... as well as continued strong growth in China.''
Shares of TechTarget Inc. are climbing after the operator of technology websites launched a tender offer for up to 10 million of its shares at $6 a piece. Shares of TTGT are trading up 15.15% to $5.93.
AT THE OPEN --
Chevron reported that it has agreed to pay $3.2 billion in cash and assume $1.1 billion in debt to purchase Atlas Energy. Atlas shareholders will receive $38.25 a share in cash, a premium of 21% over its Monday closing price. Shares of CVX are down 1.11% and shares of ATLS are up 33.92% to $42.48.
Shares of Ambac Financial Group took a nosedive after the Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the Internal Revenue Service questioned the accounting that allowed the bond insurer to receive more than $700 million in tax refunds. Ambac had warned of BK and investors finally got clarity yesterday afternoon. Shares of ABK are trading down 55.73% to $0.23.
Priceline reported third-quarter profit that topped the company’s August forecast, and it projected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue growth ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. Shares of PCLN are trading up 9.94% to $427.20.
Dean Foods posted a 51% drop in third-quarter earnings citing that its dairy operations struggled throughout the quarter. Dean Foods also forecast fourth-quarter earnings below consensus expectations, and the company said its chief financial officer, Jack Callahan, was resigning. Shares of DF are trading down 16.31% to $8.67.
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