The Toronto stock market faded back into the red by Thursday’s closing bell, weighed down by the industrials sector and another day of weak commodities prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 38.63 points to end the day at 11,504.42
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.35 cents to 96.68 cents U.S.
Shares of Bombardier Inc. were unchanged at $3.55 while shares of Canadian National Railway Co. fell $1.22 to $75.03 and shares of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. declined $1.64, or 2.5%, to $63.86
In the energy sector, Suncor dipped 54 cents to $27.59, while Imperial Oil tacked 16 cents to $42.72. Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold dipped 17 cents to $12.13, and Goldcorp dropped 38 cents to $46.93.
RIM has already said it would take a big writedown on unsold PlayBook tablet computers, but surprises could still await investors hungry for details about what many see as a new, make-or-break version of the device. Shares in the Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry maker eked out a gain of 11 cents to $15.80.
Speaking of things economic, statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity rose 0.5% in November 2011 from the previous month, on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The national average price posted a 4.6% year-over-year gain in November, the smallest increase since January
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gave back one point to 1,404.93, while the Nasdaq Canada index was down 2.57 points to 362.18
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative on the day. Gold shed 1.7%, while global base metals fell 1.4% and materials slid 1.2%.
The three gainers were real-estate, ahead 0.6%, utilities, up 0.4%, while telecoms nipped up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks rose Thursday on upbeat jobs and manufacturing reports, but investors said the market remains nervous about the European debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 45.33 points to greet the closing bell at 11,868.80
The S&P 500 progressed 4.02 points, to 1,215.84, while the Nasdaq Composite prospered 1.70 points to 2,541.01
Often considered a bellwether of the economy, FedEx reported better-than-expected income in its second fiscal quarter, with earnings per share of $1.57 U.S. Shares rose 6%.
Shares of Novellus Systems climbed 21% after Lam Research Corp announced it will acquire the company in a $3.3-billion U.S. transaction. Both companies are large manufacturers of semiconductors, used in chips.
Michael Kors stock debuted on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, after the fashion brand raised $944 million U.S. in its initial public offering the previous evening. The IPO was the largest ever for a U.S. fashion company.
Thursday's economic data reinforced the notion that the U.S. economy will continue to grow at a modest pace. But investors remain concerned about Europe, where the latest plan to end the debt crisis remains in question.
Europe's debt woes have been the main market driver since at least September. Investors are concerned that government policies meant to correct the crisis will not be enough to prevent a banking crisis that could ripple across the global financial system.
On the economic front, the number of people filing for initial unemployment benefits fell to 366,000 in the latest week -- the lowest level since May 2008, and well below analysts' estimates. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expected initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 10 to hit 390,000 -- up from 381,000 the week prior.
Elsewhere, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Producer Price Index for November increased by 0.3%, higher than expected. The index dropped 0.3% in October.
Industrial production for November declined 0.2% after a 0.7% gain in October
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its index of regional manufacturing activity jumped to 10.3 in December from 3.6 in November.
Finally, mortgage rates sank to record lows again this week, according to the weekly survey by the Federal Mortgage Company known as Freddie Mac.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell a bit on the day pushing the yield up to 1.91% from 1.90% Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for January delivery capsized $1.39 to $93.56 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices wilted $16.10 to $1,570.80 U.S. an ounce.
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