Markets in Toronto still had trouble gaining traction Thursday morning, following a triple-digit loss in the wake of President Obama’s re-election in the U.S.
The S&P/TSX composite fell 20.03 points Thursday to 12,210.56
The Canadian dollar inched higher by 0.08 cents to 100.44 cents U.S.
Meanwhile, it was another heavy earnings day for Canadian investors with reports coming in from sectors right across the board.
Manulife Financial Corp. on Thursday said it had a $227-million net loss in the third quarter, after absorbing a $1-billion charge related to the life insurance company’s annual review of actuarial assumptions. Manulife says its loss was equal to 14 cents per share under standard accounting.
However, it says a better measure of its performance was $556 million in core earnings, or 29 cents per share, down from $624 million or 34 cents per share a year earlier. Manulife shares were unchanged in the day’s first hour at $12.00
On Wednesday after the market close, Sun Life Financial Inc. said it earned $383 million, or 64 cents per share, for the latest quarter, compared with a loss of $621 million, or $1.07 per share, a year ago.
Operating net income, which excludes items that the company believes are not ongoing, was $401 million, or 68 cents per share, beating expectations of 63 cents. Sun Life galloped ahead 84 cents to $25.21
Air Canada said Thursday it had $429 million of net income in the third quarter or $1.54 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $124 million or 45 cents per diluted share for the same period last year.
Air Canada’s adjusted net income was 82 cents per share, up from 68 cents per share in the third quarter of 2011 and well above expectations of 70 cents. The airline’s shares picked up three cents to $1.92
Auto parts giant Magna International Inc. is reporting a jump in third-quarter net income to $390 million U.S., or $1.66 per diluted share, up from $102 million U.S., or 42 cents a share a year ago. Magna posted sales of $7.4 billion U.S., up from $6.97 billion U.S.in the year-ago quarter.
Magna also announced that Frank Stronach is resigning from the board of the auto parts giant he founded in his garage in 1957. Magna shares vaulted $1.34, or 3%, to $45.79
In the energy sector, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. had $360 million of net income in the third quarter or 33 cents per share, down from $753 million or 68 cents per share a year earlier.
Adjusted net earnings fell to $353 million or 32 cents per share from $606 million or 55 cents per share a year earlier as results were affected by lower prices for crude oil, synthetic crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas partially offset by higher volumes by higher volumes of crude oil and synthetic crude. Canadian Natural Resources shares faded 99 cents, or 3.4%, to $27.96
It’s also been a busy so far on the macroeconomic front, with Statistics Canada reporting our trade shrank with the rest of the world.
The nation’s number cruncher said Canada's merchandise exports rose 1.9% and imports were unchanged in September. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.5 billion in August to $826 million in September.
On the housing front, the New Housing Price Index rose 0.2% in September, following a similar increase in August.
However, figures released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts fell to 204,100 units in October from 224,000 units in September, confounding experts who predicted a figure of 212,000 last month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange picked up 8.16 points to 1,298.57
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower at the outset, weighed down mostly by health-care, 1.9% less robust, gold, off 0.3%, and telecoms, doffing 0.2%.
The three gainers were information technology, up 0.9%, consumer discretionaries, up 0.3%, and financials, improving but 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks edged higher at the open Thursday, as investors ventured back into the market a day after all three major indexes plunged more than 2%.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 18.36 points to 12,951.10.
The S&P 500 moved up 4.30 to 1,398.87, and the Nasdaq Composite Index recovered 4.41 points to 2,941.70, after both indexes suffered 2% losses, their worst one-day dip since June.
Financial stocks, which led the post-election decline, were poised for a bounce, with shares of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase up slightly in early trading.
Apple shares were also logging modest gains, a day after tumbling into bear market territory -- down 20% from their all-time-high of $705 U.S. hit in mid-September.
Following President Obama's re-election Tuesday night, attention has shifted to how lawmakers will address the looming fiscal cliff that threatens to throw the country back into a recession if left untouched.
Stocks could regain some ground early Thursday, but investors are still skittish, according to the experts.
On the corporate front, Wendy's reported weaker-than-expected earnings and sales, sending shares of the fast food chain lower.
Dean Foods shares spiked after the company posted a strong profit and said its CFO Shaun Mara is stepping down. Mara will be replaced by Chris Bellairs, who is currently CFO of the company's Fresh Dairy Direct division.
Shares of Monster Beverage tumbled in early trading. The energy drink maker reported quarterly earnings and sales that fell short of expectations after the closing bell, sending shares down 12% in after-hours trading Wednesday.
On the economic slate, the U.S. government said 355,000 Americans filed for first-time jobless claims in latest week, better than the expectations for 377,000.
The trade deficit for September narrowed to $41.5 billion U.S. Analysts were expecting the gap to widen to $45.4 billion U.S.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, lifting the yield to 1.68% from 1.63% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 69 cents at $85.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $5.30 per ounce to $1,719.30 U.S.
