The TSX pressed barely into plus territory Thursday as investors were on edge amid some weak U.S. data and growing skepticism that a meeting of euro-zone leaders in Brussels will produce a meaningful solution to the region’s growing debt crisis.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved higher by 13.76 points to end the day at 11,424.70
The Canadian dollar shed 0.72 of a cent to 96.81 cents U.S.
Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company, Petronas, is offering $5.5 billion to buy Progress Energy Resources Corp., its partner in an effort to tap Canadian natural gas for export by ship from British Columbia. Progress shares jumped 73.6%, or $8.50, to $20.05.
In Canadian corporate news, Shaw Communications Inc. reported a profit of $248 million, or 53 cents per share, in its fiscal third quarter, a 22% increase from the comparable period last year that beat analyst estimates. The cable, Internet and media company’s total revenue was $1.28 billion, about the same as a year earlier. Shaw shares gained a penny to $19.37.
Niko Resources Ltd. is reporting a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss of $183.3 million U.S. or $3.55 per share, compared with a net profit of $6.2 million or 12 cents per share in the same 2011 period. Oil and natural gas revenue fell to $71.4 million from $94.2 million. Niko stock rose 45 cents to $12.30.
Investors are also awaiting first-quarter earnings from Research In Motion, which are widely expected to show more problems ahead for the BlackBerry maker.
The Waterloo, Ont.,-based company will unveil its earnings after markets close and they are not expected to look pretty.
Chief executive Thorsten Heins has indicated RIM will book an operating loss for the three-month period, though he has not provided specifics. RIM shares were unchanged at $9.44.
In the energy field, Imperial Oil strengthened 73 cents to $41.81, while rival Suncor nipped up two cents to $28.26.
Gold took its bruises, however, with Goldcorp falling $1.07, or 2.8%, to $37.31, and Kinross Gold slid 33 cents, or 3.9%, to $8.15.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $896.63 in April, up 1.0% from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, earnings increased by 3.1%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 7.01 points to 1,164.42. The Nasdaq Canada index subtracted 3.13 points to 356.63
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups had turned positive by the closing bell. Energy stocks surged 2%, while telecoms gained 0.7% and information technology stocks prospered 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by gold, off 2%, materials, fading 1.6%, and the metals and mining group, losing 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
A U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding President Obama's health care reform law sparked a deep selloff for U.S. stocks Thursday, as investors fear that health care costs could further cripple economic growth.
The Dow Jones Industrials finished off its lows of the day, but still 24.75 points in the red, to end the day at 12,602.30
The S&P 500 was negative 2.89 points to 1,328.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 25.83 points to 2,849.49
Investors are concerned that the so-called individual mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance might act like an additional tax, giving consumers another reason to cut back on spending.
There are also worries that businesses will be forced to spend more on health care and in turn will spend less on bigger ticket items that power the U.S. and global economies.
Health-care stocks were sharply divided following the ruling. Insurers Aetna, WellPoint and Humana dropped between 2% to 6%. Hospitals, including Community Health Systems and HCA rose 8%-9%.
Meanwhile, bank stocks remained under pressure after The New York Times reported that JPMorgan's, trading losses at the firm could reach $9 billion U.S. Shares of JPMorgan fell 4.5%, while Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup dropped between 2% and 6% Thursday.
Shares of News Corp. dropped after the company's board unanimously approved separating its entertainment side from publishing. Rupert Murdoch will chair both companies.
Family Dollar's stock sank after the operator of discount chains reported earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations, and reaffirmed its guidance.
Nike and Research In Motion will report their quarterly results after the closing bell.
Nike is expected to post earnings of $1.37 a share on $6.5 billion U.S. in revenue. Research In Motion is expected to report a loss of one cent per share on $3.1 billion U.S. in revenue, which would be a 37% drop versus last year.
European leaders are faced with the daunting task of coming up with a concrete solution to the continent's debt crisis. But with so many similar summits having come and gone, investors aren't betting on any concrete solutions emerging.
Spain has been of particular concern, with its stratospheric borrowing costs threatening to drive it from private markets.
Italy may be in similar trouble. Borrowing costs have been steadily rising, and while the yield on the 10-year bond hasn't yet reached 7% -- it now hovers above 6.2%. Early Thursday, the government auctioned €5.4 billion for 5- and 10-year bonds pushing yields up slightly.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday morning that weekly jobless claims dropped 6,000 to 386,000, slightly more than expected. And the final estimate of first-quarter U.S. GDP growth was in line with expectations at 1.9%.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, pushing the yield down to 1.58% from Wednesday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for August delivery dropped $1.78 to $78.42 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery fell $23.10 to $1,555.20 U.S. an ounce.
