Resource stocks could pressure the Toronto stock market at the open Wednesday as prices for oil and metals backed off ahead of the release of the latest reading on U.S. durable goods orders.
In corporate news, CVTech Group Inc. dropped to a loss of $1.4 million in the fourth quarter as it booked a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $2.9 million. That compared to a profit of $3 million a year ago. The company builds and maintains electrical transmission lines in Quebec and the eastern United States.
Canadian Helicopters Group Inc. had a $10.2-million profit in the fourth quarter, a far cry from the $28.8-million loss the company handed in a year earlier. The Montreal-based company's revenue for the quarter grew by 60% to $68.9 million. On a per-share basis the net income for the quarter amounted to 78 cents per share -- blowing past the consensus estimate of 42 cents per share compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Crocodile Gold Corp. has bought two mines in Australia from AuRico Gold Inc. in a deal worth up to $105 million, the companies said Tuesday. Crocodile said the deal will add up to 175,000 ounces of production for 2012 to bring the company to between 230,000 and 250,000 ounces for the year.
ON BAYSTREET
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 62.86 points Tuesday to 12,511.93
The TSX Venture Exchange closed Tuesday lower by 6.33 points to 1,575.06, while the Nasdaq Canada index dipped 3.73 to 414.49
The Canadian dollar gained 0.10 cents this morning to 100.81 cents U.S.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. index futures were up with about 30 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 18 points or 0.1%, to 13,142, on track to erase the 44-point dip on Tuesday. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were up 0.5 points to 1,406.90.
Nasdaq futures gained 5.25 points, or 0.2%, to 2,781.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down less than 0.1% in afternoon trading, after a third revision to its fourth-quarter gross domestic product showed a sharper-than-expected contraction of 0.3%. Germany's DAX index was relatively flat. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% in overnight trading.
Crude oil is going to be in focus, with reports from the Financial Times that the U.K. and France are considering coordinated action to release strategic reserves in an attempt to bring down oil prices. Oil has been rising to levels at which some observers are worried that consumer spending and other economic activity could be affected.
Oil fell to $106.35 U.S. a barrel, down 0.9%, while gold prices registered at $1,673.10 U.S., up 0.7%.
