Toronto stocks staggered out of the gate, as housing figures this morning added to the constant concern about Europe debt
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stumbled 110.41 points to 12,038.32 in the first hour of trading
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.74 cents to 98.33 cents U.S.
Stocks to keep an eye on this morning include fertilizer maker Potash Corp. said it settled a lawsuit with Mosaic over rights to the Esterhazy potash mine in Saskatchewan.
The head of energy giant Enbridge Inc. said the company does not expect a big jump in costs due to a one-year addition to the hearing schedule for its $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline to Canada's West Coast from Alberta.
Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. posted higher second-quarter profit helped by a rise in gold production and prices.
Chinese forestry firm Sino-Forest Corp. may choose to go private as it seeks to restore its finances and reputation after its shares lost three quarters of their value amid fraud allegations, the CEO of the company was quoted as saying.
Oilfield services provider Calfrac Well Services raised its 2012 budget by about a third to boost its logistics operations in North America and declared a 33% hike in its semi-annual payout.
Teranga Gold Corp. said it expects to produce less gold than previously planned for the year as drill and loading availability issues hit access to high-grade zones at its Sabodala Gold mine in Senegal, West Africa.
Economically speaking, housing starts took a beating in November. Figures released this morning by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation show the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 181,100 units last month, down from 208,800 in October.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 10.04 points to 1,529.17, while the Nasdaq Canada index backtracked 3.78 points to 387.71
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups went south soon after the opening. Metals and mining stocks fell 2.1%, global base metals and gold trailed Wednesday’s close 1.9%.
Health-care issues proved the lone gainer, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks fell Thursday, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi appeared to dash investors' hopes of a round of bond buying of sovereign debt of troubled euro-zone nations.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved north 46.24 points to close out Wednesday at 12,196.40
The S&P 500 recovered 2.54 points, to 1,261.01, while the Nasdaq Composite subtracted 0.35 points to 2,649.21
Investors quickly shrugged off a better-than-expected jobless claims report, which hit a nine-month low.
Shares of discount retailer Costco dropped after the company released quarterly results before the opening bell Thursday that missed analysts' expectations. The company reported earnings of 73 cents U.S. a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 80 cents U.S. a share.
Meat producer Smithfield Foods shares fell despite beating analysts' expectations, posting earnings of 76 cents U.S. a share.
On Wednesday, retailer J.C. Penney announced it would buy a stake in home decor expert Martha Stewart's franchise, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. The retail giant said it would invest $38.5 million U.S. Shares of Martha Stewart Living dropped in early trading.
Investors will continue to watch as European leaders meet Thursday in Brussels to discuss closer political and economic coordination, as well as other measures to restore market confidence and stabilize the euro currency.
The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point Thursday morning, to 1%. The central bank was widely expected to cut its rates by up to 0.5%, as the risk of a broad recession in Europe continues to rise.
U.S. stocks ended mostly higher Wednesday, as investors bet that European leaders will produce a meaningful solution to the debt crisis. But trading has been choppy this week, amid a flurry of rumours about what the politicians may or may not announce after the summit.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is in Europe this week to meet with top government officials, highlighting the growing concern in Washington about the eurozone debt crisis.
On the economic front, the U.S. government reported Thursday that the number of people filing for initial unemployment benefits fell to a nine-month low of 381,000 in the latest week.
The news initially boosted markets, as jobless claims for the week ending December 3 were expected to hit 395,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
Reports on inventories and the trade balance are also due Thursday.
Wholesale inventories for the month of October are expected to have increased by 0.2%, after contracting by 0.1% the month prior. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit for October is expected to hit $44.0 billion, up from $43.1 billion in September.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury inched up, pushing the yield down to 2.01%, from 2.02% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for January delivery gave back 51 cents to $99.98 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery dropped $19.00 to $1,725.80 U.S. an ounce
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