Canada's main stock index opened lower on Thursday, led by mining stocks and falling gold prices, as the uncertainty surrounding U.S. congressional budget talks dragged on.
The S&P/TSX composite index subtracted 30.72 points to kick off Thursday at 12,372.91
The Canadian dollar fell 0.04 cents to 101.11 cents U.S.
Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. rejected claims it misled investors about the benefits of an expansion at its plant, which was subsequently destroyed by fire in November. Neptune shares were down a penny to $2.01
Canadian Pacific Railway said on Wednesday that a government arbitrator has issued his decision on a new labour deal with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents some 5,000 engineers, conductors and traffic controllers. CP shares gained 19 cents to $100.99
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales rose 0.7% in October, stronger than market expectations for a 0.2% gain and September's 0.2% increase
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 1.25 points to 1,175.27
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to begin the day. Industrials moved 0.4% higher, while information technology improved 0.3% and health-care stocks inched 0.1% higher.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by gold and materials, each down 1.2% and the metals and mining group, down 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks inched higher at the opening bell Thursday even though fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington hit a new snag.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 6.35 points to begin Thursday at 13,245.60
The S&P 500 moved up 2.31 points to 1,438.12. The Nasdaq Composite faded 5.15 points to 3,039.21
After progress earlier this week in talks over spending cuts and tax hikes, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner butted heads Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown as the deadline looms for an agreement.
On the corporate front, shares of NYSE Euronext surged 37% after the operator of the New York Stock Exchange agreed to be bought by IntercontinentalExchange Inc for $8.2 billion U.S. in cash and stock.
KB Home shares fell after the homebuilder released quarterly earnings that beat analyst estimates, but declined over the past year. Meanwhile, Rite Aid stock soared after the company reported its first profit in more than five years.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc shares slipped after the retailer reported mixed quarterly results late Wednesday and offered weak guidance.
Also late Wednesday, Google announced it will sell its Motorola Mobility Home division, which includes cable set-top boxes and modems, to Arris for $2.35 billion U.S. Arris stock rose about 7%, while Google ticked slightly higher.
After the closing bell Thursday, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will announce its quarterly results. Nike will also release its latest earnings.
Economically speaking, the government released its final estimate of third-quarter GDP growth: a 3.1% annual rate, much faster than the 1.3% rate in the second quarter. In other economic news, jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 361,000 in the latest week.
Later this morning, the National Association of Realtors will publish its monthly report on existing home sales.
Treasury prices regained some ground, lowering yields on the 10-year note to 1.78% from Wednesday’s 1.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil was down 35 cents to $89.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $16.40 to $1,651.30 U.S. an ounce.
