The Toronto stock market gave up an early, modest rise Thursday as some positive U.S. economic data failed to distract investors from doubts about a coming summit of euro-zone leaders to deal with the European government debt crisis.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 19.17 points, but off its lows of the day, to 11,830.33
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, moved forward 0.45 cents to 98.49 cents U.S.
The energy sector shed some of its strength as Suncor Energy shed 14 cents to $29.90 and Cenovus Energy fell 16 cents to $35.09.
The base metals sector recovered some strengthened, even as demand worries pushed copper prices lower for a fourth day with the December contract on the Nymex down 16 cents to $3.09 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals regained four cents to $15.05 and Teck Resources also gained four cents to $34.16.
The gold sector fell as Goldcorp Inc. faded 33 cents to $45.01 and Barrick Gold Corp. was down 74 cents to $44.94.
Tech stocks were also a weight as Celestica gave back 28 cents to $7.90 and Research In Motion Ltd. was down 17 cents to $22.61.
In earnings news, natural gas and liquids giant Encana Corp. said quarterly profit came in at $120 million U.S., down from $606 million U.S. a year ago as the company was hit with a big currency translation loss. Revenues fell to $2.35 billion from $2.4 billion. Its shares edged 11 cents lower to $20.44.
Shaw Communications Inc. shares dropped 49 cents to $20.60. The company saw its overall fourth-quarter profit fall by 32% to $$82.5 million, as losses from its aborted wireless strategy offset gains elsewhere. Revenue at the cable, Internet and satellite TV provider was $1.18 billion, up from nearly $938.9 million a year earlier.
In other corporate news, The Wall Street Journal reported the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is partnering with Microsoft Corp. and a private equity firm in a possible bid for Yahoo Inc.
The WSJ had reported on Wednesday that private equity firms Silver Lake Partners, Blackstone Group, TPG Capital and Bain Capital are also exploring possible buyout scenarios for Yahoo. Yahoo shares rose 33 cents to $16.27 U.S.
Scotiabank has agreed to pay about $1 billion U.S. in cash and stock to buy 51% of a Colombian retail bank. Canada’s most international bank plans to integrate its own wholesale operations in Colombia into Banco Colpatria, which has a network of 175 branches and 308 automatic teller machines. Scotiabank shares declined six cents to $51.67.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale sales inched up 0.2% in August to $48.4 billion following a 0.9% advance in July.
Elsewhere, those of us drawing regular Employment Insurance benefits increased by 35,200, or more than 6%, to 568,600 in August, after July’s number fell by as much.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 13.03 points to 1,512.79 while the Nasdaq Canada index dipped 1.44 points to 427.75
The 14 Toronto subgroups were divided evenly between winners and losers. The latter group was weighed most by health-care, 1.1% off yesterday’s close, while gold and information technology fell 1% each.
The seven gainers were powered upwards by consumer staples, which prospered 0.6%, global base metals, which strengthened 0.4%, and real-estate, which picked up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks pared losses Thursday, as European leaders confirmed that they will meet multiple times over the next week to approve a key plan to resolve Europe's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved forward 37.16 points to end the day at 11,541.80
The S&P 500 tacked on 5.51 points to 1,215.39, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 5.42 points to 2,598.62.
Investors also breathed a sight of relief after the Greek parliament passed the latest package of austerity measures.
Earlier in the session, the three major indexes were down about 1% as jittery investors reacted to headlines questioning whether the summit of European leaders scheduled for this weekend would take place, and whether anything substantial would result from it.
But those nerves were calmed following a joint statement from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaders said that the elements of a comprehensive response to Europe's debt crisis will be discussed in depth at Sunday's European Council summit, and a plan will be adopted by next Wednesday, at the latest.
Meanwhile, the Greek parliament approved a package of austerity cuts Thursday in order to secure the next tranche of funding from last year's bailout. The vote came as violent protests continue in Athens for the second day in a row.
Investors have been reacting to nearly every headline, positive or negative, over the last several weeks, amid hopes and skepticism that European leaders will be able to get the region out of crisis mode.
AT&T shares slipped after the telecom company reported earnings per share of 54 cents U.S., excluding one-time gains.
Nokia shares climbed, after the Finnish mobile phone maker announced a third-quarter loss of about $94 million U.S. and sales that plunged 13%. But because those results were better than analysts had expected, investors welcomed the news.
Philip Morris shares gained after the cigarette maker announced earnings and revenue that both beat Wall Street estimates. Philip Morris earnings were projected to rise to $1.23 U.S. per share, but came in at $1.37 U.S. per share.
After the closing bell Wednesday, online retailer eBay reported earnings that hit estimates and credit-card lender American Express beat forecasts. Shares moved lower.
Other tech and financial shares also struggled. Microsoft, which reports earnings after the bell, was among the Dow's decliners, along with Hewlett-Packard and Intel
On the economic front, new claims for unemployment benefits remained above the key 400,000 threshold, dimming hopes for an improving job market.
Claims for initial unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 403,000 in the latest week, which was in line with expectations. Continuing unemployment claims rose to about 3.72 million, up slightly from 3.69 million.
Existing home sales fell to an annual rate of 4.91 million in September from a revised 5.06 million the previous month, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
The Philadelphia Fed index showed that manufacturing activity improved in October in the mid-Atlantic area, after slowing for two straight months.
Meanwhile, the index of leading economic indicators -- a measure of the economy's future performance -- rose 0.2% in September, the Conference Board said. Analysts had forecast a 0.3% increase for the month.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slid once again, raising the yield to 2.18% from 2.16% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery lost about 13 cents to $85.98 U.S. a barrel, amid unconfirmed reports that deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi had been captured and killed.
Gold futures for December delivery slid $34.10 to settle at $1,612.90 U.S. an ounce.
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