Markets in Toronto were diffident about exploring the breakeven point Friday morning, still shaking off the fears of an impending fiscal crisis in the U.S.
The S&P/TSX composite began Friday’s trading down four points to 12,187.05
The Canadian dollar fell back 0.06 cents to 99.91 cents U.S.
Telus Corp, Canada's third-largest wireless company, reported an 8% rise in third-quarter profit as it added more postpaid customers than those of larger rival Rogers Communications Inc. Telus shares vaulted $1.15 each, or 1.8%, to $64.68
Enerplus reported a third-quarter loss due to certain asset impairments and said it expects growth to slow down next year as it cuts capital spending by 20%. Enerplus shares plummeted $2.10, or nearly 14%, to $12.95.
China's top offshore oil and gas producer, CNOOC Ltd, said it is confident of winning regulatory approval from Canada this year for its $15.1-billion bid for oil producer Nexen Inc. even though Ottawa has extended its review of the deal twice. Shares in Nexen inched up 18 cents to $23.71
Alliance Grain Traders Inc. reported lower quarterly profit on Thursday, even as it said problems for its customers accessing credit were beginning to ease. Alliance shares fell 55 cents, or 3.8%, to $13.80
TMX Group Ltd., the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, reported a profit in its first. Soon out of the gate, TMX stock gained $1.38, or 2.2%, to $64.91
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.03 points to 1,298.71
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower to begin he day, health-care again being the main culprit, losing 0.7%, while metals and mining deducted 0.6% and energy fell 0.4%.
The four gainers were led by telecoms, up 0.5%, information technology, inching up 0.4% and financials, gaining 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened little changed Friday, as disappointing corporate results weighed on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials acquired a mere 5.18 points to kick off trading at 12,816.50.
The S&P 500 moved up 2.22 to 1,379.33, and the Nasdaq Composite Index strengthened 12.77 points to 2,908.35
J.C. Penney reported a much larger than expected loss, sending its shares tumbling 8%. The company lost 93 cents U.S. a share excluding special items, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were forecasting a loss of only seven cents U.S. Sales also fell short of forecasts.
It marked the third straight quarter of bigger than forecast losses at J.C. Penney as new CEO Ron Johnson struggles to remake the company.
After the closing bell Thursday, Disney reported earnings in line with analyst expectations but sales of the entertainment company were a bit short of forecasts. Shares of the Dow component traded 6%.
Shares of daily deals site Groupon plunged 23% Friday, a day after quarterly results missed expectations.
In other corporate news, Kayak announced late Thursday that it was being purchased by Priceline in a $1.8 billion U.S. cash-and-stock deal. Shares of Kayak shot up 26% to just below the $40 U.S. a share purchase price. Shares of Kayak competitor Expedia were down 3%, while TripAdvisor, another rival, was not yet trading.
In economic news, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released figures on October export prices that rose 0.2% compared to 0.7% the prior month. Import prices rose 0.3% in October compared to 0.2% the prior month.
Reports on consumer sentiment and wholesale inventories are due later in the morning. The University of Michigan's preliminary version of its consumer sentiment index for November is expected to come in at 83, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, up from 82.6 last month. Wholesale inventories for September are expected to have increased by 0.4%
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit of ground, lowering the yield to 1.62%, from 1.63% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 13 cents at $84.96 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $9.50 per ounce to $1,735.50 U.S.
