Canadian stocks lost still more strength Tuesday amid relatively upbeat data on retail sales for May, as investors in Toronto sidestepped deeper losses seen on Wall Street and in Europe.
The S&P/TSX Composite index tumbled 78.59 points to finish the day at 11,466.95
The Canadian dollar deducted 0.20 cents to 98.01 cents U.S.
Buoying telecom equities was a 5% gain in Class B shares of Rogers Communications, which strengthened after the media company reported a slightly higher second-quarter profit of 91 cents a share on an adjusted basis, exceeding analyst estimates. Still, net income edged a little lower, from a year ago. Rogers closed the day’s trading at $39.10
Also supporting the sector, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. added 1.4% to $7.07 and BCE Inc., Canada’s largest phone company, tacked on 1.3% to $41.82.
Shares of Centerra Gold rallied 6.1% to $6.74, followed by Eldorado Gold Corp. up 3.6% to $10.32, after announcing it would be restarting previously suspended surface-clearing activities at a site in Greece.
In the oil patch, shares of Imperial Oil dropped 0.4% to $42.80, while Suncor Energy shares decreased 1.7% to $29.78, while Canadian Natural Resources stumbled 4% to $27.64.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Retail sales rose less than expected in May, up 0.3%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% rise. Excluding autos, sales rose a firmer-than-expected 0.5% (the consensus being 0.1%).
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 7.69 points to 1,166.47. The Nasdaq Canada index let go of 2.35 points to 329.25.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, weighed mostly by energy stocks, down 1.8%, global base metals, off 1.4%, and utilities, sliding 1.1%.
The two stalwarts proved to be telecoms, 1.6% healthier, and gold, 0.2% shinier.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks declined sharply Tuesday as a weak reading on U.S. manufacturing, a dull batch of earnings reports and ongoing worries about Europe dampened the mood on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average declined 104.14 points to close at 12,617.30
The S&P 500 retreated 11.22 points to 1,339.30. The Nasdaq docked 27.16 points to 2,862.99.
Cisco was the biggest laggard on the Dow, a day after the network equipment maker said it planned to cut 1,300 jobs, or about 2% of its global workforce. Shares of Cisco were down nearly 6% in mid-afternoon trading.
Results from corporate America were also uninspiring. AT&T was the second biggest drag on the Dow. The mobile-service provider delivered higher-than-expected earnings but missed revenue forecasts, despite strong subscriber growth during the quarter.
UPS shares slumped after the delivery company reported earnings and sales that fell short of forecasts, and cut its outlook. The company blamed uncertainty in the United States, Europe's debt crisis and weak Asian exports.
Apple and Netflix are on tap to report results after the close.
DeVry's stock tumbled 24%, making it the worst performer among the S&P 500, after the for-profit education provider warned that it would earn far less than what analysts had been expecting in the fourth quarter, citing a shortfall in revenue, rising costs and a one-time charge.
Rival Apollo Group, which operates the University of Phoenix, was also a big loser. JPMorgan lowered its stock price target on the company to $43 from $47 U.S.
Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chuy's was making a strong debut as a public company, a day after pricing its IPO at $13 U.S. a share -- at the top end of its estimated range. Shares rose about 18%.
Shares of Regions Financial climbed after the company posted a second-quarter profit that more than tripled from a year earlier. The company was able to post robust results by slashing its provisions for bad loans by more than 90%.
Shares of Chinese Web-search company Baidu jumped a day after the company released quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
Early Tuesday, HSBC said its China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 49.5 for July. While any reading below 50 indicates contraction, it is the highest number reported since February and shows significant improvement.
Rating agency Moody's cut the outlook on Germany's prized Aaa credit rating to "negative" after the closing bell Monday, citing concerns about the stability of the euro-zone and the potential for more bailouts.
Moody's also revised its outlooks on the Aaa ratings of the Netherlands and Luxembourg to "negative." Finland is the only country in the 17-nation euro-zone to maintain its Aaa rating and a stable outlook.
Meanwhile, European manufacturing activity remains sluggish. Activity continued to contract across the euro-zone in July, while Germany's PMI fell to a three-year low.
Spain remains in the spotlight, with the yield on the 10-year bond hitting a fresh euro-era record high of 7.625%. That came as Spain successfully auctioned €3 billion of three-month and six-month government bills, but investors demanded higher interest rates amid ongoing fears that Spain could require a full-blown bailout.
Economically speaking, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Housing Price Index for May was up 3.7% from a year earlier.
The news followed a similarly bullish report from real estate listing site Zillow, which showed home prices rose for the first time in five years.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury strengthened, pushing the yield down to 1.40% from 1.44% late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for September delivery tacked on 53 cents to $88.67 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.10 an ounce to $1,581.50 U.S.
