Canada's main stock index was in negative territory midday Friday, hurt by disappointing results from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd and concern about the outcome of a euro-zone finance ministers meeting in Poland.
The S&P/TSX Composite greeted noon off 56.62 points to 12,368.22
The Canadian dollar gained 0.23 of a cent to 101.89 cents U.S.
RIM reported a steep drop in second-quarter profit on limp sales of its smartphones and tablets, and offered investors little hope of a turnaround anytime soon.
Among other Canadian stocks to watch this morning, solar tech whiz Arise Technologies, which is reviewing its strategic alternatives, said it secured a $500,000 bridge loan from Radiant Investments Management's funds to run operations.
Alamos Gold Inc. said measured and indicated resources for two of its projects in Turkey rose 19%.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that foreigners added $11.8 billion to their holdings, mainly in the form of federal Treasury bills.
On the flip side, Canadian holdings of foreign securities edged up $1.3 billion, led by further acquisitions of foreign corporate shares.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was off 1.68 to 1,762.62, while the Nasdaq Canada index was down 34.71 points to 484.06
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by noon. Information technology sank 4.8%, while energy and global base metal stocks lost 1%.
The three gainers were gold, up 1.5%, materials, ahead 0.7%, and health-care issues, up 0.6%.
Consumer staple stocks were flat in the early afternoon
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks moved gradually ahead Friday, as investors take a breather and await news from a meeting of European finance ministers in Poland.
The Dow Jones Industrials had gained 72.54 points at the lunch break to 11,505.70
The S&P 500 picked up 4.43 points to 1,213.54, while the Nasdaq hiked 12.70 points to 2,619.77.
Financial stocks were dragging on stocks, with shares of Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase down about 2%.
As noted above, shares of Research in Motion fell 19% a day after the company announced grim second-quarter results that fell far short of Wall Street's sales and earnings forecasts.
RIM earned $329 million U.S. in the quarter, less than half of its profit a year earlier. RIM booked a one-time charge of $118 million U.S. for costs associated with a reorganization announced in July. RIM shares fell 17% in after-hours trading.
One day after the Swiss bank disclosed a $2-billion U.S. loss due to a rogue trader, UBS shares rose 3%, as reports indicate the bank might be forced to consider layoffs.
And in a sign the loss could have long-term implications, Moody's placed the bank's credit rating on review for a possible downgrade.
Netflix's stock remained under pressure, with shares down 5%, making it a big laggard on the S&P 500. Netflix plunged 19% Thursday after the company cut its subscriber forecast for the current quarter, saying it now expects to end the period with 24 million customers -- down from the 25 million the company forecast just a few weeks ago.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is also attending the two-day meeting, where leaders are expected to continue to be supportive of Greece.
Trading is likely to be fairly quiet Friday, as news from the meeting in Poland is not expected until the weekend, said one expert, who added the focal point of the meeting is likely to be the expansion European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which is the bailout fund for Europe's cash-strapped countries, including Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
If stocks manage to hold gains Friday, it will mark the fifth straight day of gains and the best week since the end of June. Despite the week's strength, stocks remain in the red for the year.
U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday as banks led the market higher, following a coordinated effort by five central banks to help ward off a credit crisis in Europe.
The European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve and three other major central banks agreed to step in to boost dollar liquidity for banks in Europe.
The move comes amid signs of a pullback in bank-to-bank lending, as European Union officials struggle to resolve long-standing sovereign debt issues.
Economically speaking, the University of Michigan's initial reading on its consumer sentiment index came in at 57.8 for September, above estimates for 56.3 and the August reading of 55.7.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained a bit, returning yields to the rate of 2.08% from where they closed Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery scooted back $2.07 to $87.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery jumped $17 to $1,798.40 U.S. an ounce.
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