The Toronto stock market turned into positive territory Friday as traders played it cautious while U.S. President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders got together to discuss a resolution to a looming fiscal crisis that has the potential to seriously disrupt the American economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved higher by 31.29 points, to greet noon at 11,842.67
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.18 cents to 99.73 cents U.S.
The TSX has tumbled 4.5% since the election as worries about a sudden slowing of economic growth would be bad news for a resource heavy market like Toronto's, since a lessening of demand for oil and metals would put pressure on mining and energy stocks.
December copper fell two cents to $3.44 U.S. a pound. Base metal stocks such as Turquoise Hill Resources dropped 20 cents to $7.40 while First Quantum Minerals slipped 21 cents to $20.93.
The consumer staples sector declined as grocer Loblaw Cos. gave back 45 cents to $32.97.
The TSX energy sector drifted lower as. Suncor Energy declined 22 cents to $31.46 and Canadian Natural Resources shed 20 cents to $27.17.
The gold sector was slightly lower as Goldcorp Inc. was down 26 cents to $39.66 and Iamgold faded 27 cents to $11.54.
On the corporate front, trading in shares of Astral Media Inc. was halted Friday after a report that BCE Inc. was planning to make a new takeover offer for the broadcasting and advertising company. The CRTC killed a $3.4-billion deal last month, saying it wasn't in the best interests of Canadians.
The Globe and Mail said the new deal seeks to overcome regulatory opposition with a plan to auction off a number of Astral's English broadcast assets. BCE shares were ahead 36 cents at $41.74.
On the economic list, Statistics Canada told us that foreign investment in Canadian securities advanced to $13.9 billion in September, mostly due to buys of government bonds and corporate equities. Canadian investment in foreign securities hit $6 billion, a six-month high, mostly due to the acquisition of U.S. equities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 1.22 points to 1,223.92
The 14 Toronto subgroups were divided evenly between gainers and losers. Health-care rocketed 1.7% higher, while energy and telecoms gained 0.4% each.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by consumer staples and real-estate, each off 0.3%, while materials sank 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks turned higher Friday, even as investors continued to keep a wary eye on negotiations in Washington over the fiscal cliff.
The Dow Jones Industrials reached the lunch break up 45.24 points to 12,587.60
The S&P 500 grew 5.27 points to 1,358.60, and the Nasdaq Composite Index regained 12.39 points to 2,849.33
Dell shares fell after the company announced disappointing third quarter results late Thursday, falling short of forecasts on both revenue and earnings. Income fell 47% over the same period last year, on weak PC sales. Rival Hewlett-Packard is set to report its latest earnings next Tuesday.
Gap shares rose after the retailer reported strong third quarter earnings late Thursday.
Sears Holdings, led by hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, posted a quarterly loss Thursday of $498 million U.S., much worse than
analysts were expecting and wider than its year-earlier loss. Sales slid about 6% during the quarter. Shares of Sears tumbled 15%, making it the worst performer on the S&P 500.
Investors have been on edge since Election Day as they've been keeping tabs on the fiscal cliff debate closely. Since Obama's re-election last week, all three indexes have lost more than 5%. They're down more than 2% this week alone.
Economically speaking, a Federal Reserve report showed U.S. industrial production fell 0.4% in October. While the data fell short of economists' forecasts, it was likely impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained some ground, lowering yields to 1.58% from Thursday’s 1.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $1.04 to $86.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted $1.40 an ounce to $1,712.40 U.S.
