Energy stocks helped pull the Toronto stock market slightly lower Tuesday afternoon amid volatile oil prices and good news about efforts to bring an overheated Japanese nuclear complex under control.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 13.70 points to close Tuesday’s trading at 14,000
The Canadian dollar settled back 0.14 of a cent at 102.1 cents U.S.
The TSX energy sector fell as coalition forces continue to launch air attacks to enforce a no-fly zone against Libya. Canadian Natural Resources declined 20 cents to $48.51 while Suncor Energy Inc. shares were flat at $44.63.
Oil prices are up more than 14% since mid-February on speculation that political unrest in the Middle East could spread to other countries and disrupt oil supplies.
The base metals sector eased with the May copper contract in New York ahead three cents at $4.31 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gave back 77 cents to $52.10 while Equinox Minerals lost 25 cents to $5.03.
Equinox said Tuesday it remains committed to a $4.8-billion cash-and-stock takeover bid for Lundin Mining Corp., which is supporting a rival friendly merger offer from Inmet Mining.
Equinox said Tuesday its offer of up to $2.4 billion cash and up to 380 million Equinox shares is superior to the rival proposal to create a new company owned 53% by Inmet shareholders and 47% by Lundin shareholders.
The gold sector was ahead as Goldcorp Inc. gained three cents to $47.23 while Kinross Gold Corp. improved by 56 cents to $15.55.
Financials also provided some lift as CIBC climbed 97 cents to $84.36 while Scotiabank added 62 cents to $59.22. But insurance stocks were lower with Sun Life Financial down 29 cents to $30.92.
On the corporate front, Canadian Pacific was down $1.79 to $62.70 after the country’s second-largest railway said it expects to earn between 12 and 22 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down by about 40 cents from last year due to the severity and length of winter this year.
The average analyst estimate according to Thomson Reuters had been for a profit of 71 cents per share.
Research in Motion said the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will be available April 19 in more than 20,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada. The units will be available at Best Buy and Future Shop stores in Canada. However, customers can place orders beginning today in stores or by ordering online. RIM its shares added 30 cents to $61.25.
Research In Motion reports its quarterly earnings on Thursday.
Bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries Inc. booked a quarterly loss of $15.9 million U.S., compared to a lesser loss of $11.4 million a year ago. Revenue slipped 17.9% to $204.8 million, from $249.4 million. Its units lost $1.54 to $10.40.
On the economic scoreboard, Statistics Canada reported lower auto sales were the main reason retail sales decreased by 0.3% to $37.1 billion in January, the second decline in two months.
The subsector with the largest sales increase in dollars was food and beverage stores. Economists had expected overall retail sales to rise by 1.1%
In other economic news, Statistics Canada’s composite leading index rose 0.8% in February, double its gains in each of the previous three months and its largest advance since last May.
The gauge of future economic growth was broadly based, with nine of the 10 components posting gains in February compared with five in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 11.89 points to 2,297.13, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched up 1.57 points to 785.93
In Toronto, eight of the 14 subgroups were up on the day, led by health-care issues, up 1.6%, telecoms, ahead 0.7%, and real-estate, gaining 0.6%.
Among the six laggards, metals and mining stocks slid 1.4%, while consumer staples fell 0.8%, and global base metals deducted 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, after three days of rallying to reclaim pre-Japan earthquake levels, U.S. stocks slipped back into the red on Tuesday. Fatigued investors took a step back and considered lingering problems in Japan and across the Arab world.
The Dow Jones industrial average faded 17.90 points to finish at 12.018.60.
The S & P 500 was off 4.61 points to 1,293.77. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index moved 8.22 points lower to 2,683.87.
Investors refocused their attention on Tuesday to rising oil prices amid increasing political turmoil in North Africa and continuing violence Libya and Yemen.
Late Monday, news reports revealed that Apple had sued Amazon in California federal court. In the complaint, Apple asked a judge to block Amazon from using the term "Appstore." Three years ago, Apple was granted a trademark on its own "App Store." Shares of Apple were up 0.3%, while Amazon's stock fell 1.4%.
Bristol-Myers Squibb was a strong gainer on the S&P 500. Shares were up 2% on heavy volume, after the company said an experimental drug extended the survival of previously untreated skin cancer patients.
A 7% drop in shares of Walgreens dragged on the S&P 500 -- despite the drugstore chain posting a 10% jump in fiscal second-quarter profit Tuesday morning, driven by prescription sales and a later onset to the cold and flu season.
Shares of Netflix gained 3%, after Credit Suisse boosted its rating on the movie rental company. Netflix was the biggest gained on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
After the close, software maker Adobe Systems and credit card company Discover are on tap to report quarterly results.
On the economic front, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's home price index fell 0.3% in January, following a 1% drop the prior month.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were slightly off, boosting yields to 3.33% from Monday’s 3.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained $2.64 to $104.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $1.20, or 0.1%, to $1,427.60 U.S. an ounce.
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