Toronto's main stock index opened marginally higher on Thursday as commodities fell on a stronger dollar, while miners may see some support from Glencore and Xstrata merger talks.
The S&P TSX Composite Index added 24.63 points to 12,542.29
The Canadian dollar slid 0.06 cents to 100.08 cents U.S.
Stocks to watch this Thursday include Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. which said profit was more than halved in the fourth quarter as outages at a major processing unit cut production.
Oil sands rival MEG Energy Corp.said fourth-quarter profit was up by nearly a third, helped mainly by a rise in bitumen production and lower operating costs.
Scotiabank announced plans to raise $1.5 billion in a public share offering to boost its capital level and pay for previously announced acquisitions.
Business software concern Open Text: posted a 28% jump in second-quarter profit on solid demand from services, technology and financial customers.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.39 points to 1,643.70, while the Nasdaq Canada index grew 7.40 points to 424.86.
All but three of 14 Toronto subgroups were positive in the day’s first hour. Information technology raced ahead 3.4%, while global base metals improved 0.9%, and gold shone 0.6% brighter.
The two laggards were financials, off 0.7%, and consumer staples, sliding 0.1%. Health-care stocks were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks inched higher early Thursday as traders awaited comments from Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke, and keep a wary eye on Greece's debt talks
The Dow Jones Industrials improved 15.33 points to 12,731.80 to begin Thursday’s trading
The S&P 500 scratched ahead 0.86 points to 1,324.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq added 12.21 points to 2,860.48
Abercrombie & Fitch's stock fell after the clothing retailer reported flat same-store sales for the latest quarter and lowered their earnings guidance.
Zynga shares rallied following Facebook's IPO filing. Zynga's gaming apps and advertising contributed about 12% of Facebook revenue last year.
Sony shares fell after the company reported disappointing earnings and revenue.
Unilever shares slumped after the maker of Lipton teas, Dove soaps and other consumer products said it had difficulty passing higher raw material costs on to consumers last year, and announced a gloomy outlook for 2012.
Qualcomm, a company that sells chips used in cellphones, boosted its forecast for its 2012 performance.
Merck reported earnings in line with estimates but revenue that fell short of expectations.
Viacom shares fell after the media giant reported better-than-expected earnings in its fiscal first quarter, but cited ratings weakness and softness in the U.S. television advertising market. Its film division swung to an operating loss in the quarter.
Dow Chemical posted quarterly results that fell short of expectations.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shares jumped after the company reported its first-quarter revenue soared 102% compared to a year earlier, boosted by K-Cup sales.
Investors remain on the lookout for an official agreement on a debt-reduction plan and second bailout for Greece. The deal is expected to come by the end of the week, though deadlines have been missed in the past.
Back in the United States, Bernanke was to testify on Capitol Hill about the Fed's economic outlook before the House Budget Committee at 10 a.m. ET. Investors will be tuning in to get more clarity on central bank's pledge last week to keep interest rates ultra low until the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, tech shares will bask in the after-glow of Facebook's long-awaited Initial Public Offering filing, which came after the closing bell Wednesday. The social network's valuation is still speculative until it actually starts trading, but it's attempting to raise $5 billion U.S. with its IPO.
On the economic ledger, initial jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 28 totaled 367,000, according to the government. They were expected to total 375,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to show that fourth-quarter productivity ticked up 0.7%, versus the previous year.
A few reports are pointing to a slowdown in hiring in January. Data released Thursday morning from outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows planned job cuts surged 28% in January to 53,486 -- marking the highest total since 116,000 job cuts announced in September.
The Challenger report follows data Wednesday from payroll processor ADP saying that the private sector added 170,000 jobs in January, down sharply from 292,000 in December.
The government's highly anticipated jobs report due out Friday morning, is expected to show the U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, according to economists surveyed by CNNMoney. That would mark a sharp slowdown in hiring versus December, when 200,000 jobs were created. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.6%.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note edged higher, lowering yields to 1.84% from Wednesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery doffed 93 cents to $96.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery added $2.10 to $1,751.60 U.S. an ounce.
