Toronto’s main stock index opened lower, as investors looked ahead to negotiations on the U.S. debt limit and spending cuts, halting the gains that followed a deal to avoid sharp tax hikes south of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index eased 24.44 points to begin Thursday’s trading at 12,516.33
The Canadian dollar gained 0.07 cents to 101.54 cents U.S.
Imperial Oil Ltd's Kearl oil sands project in northern Alberta could start commercial production in the coming weeks after a previous target was delayed from the end of December. Imperial stock was unchanged at $42.44
RBC raised the target price on Canadian Energy Services to $13 from $12 as the company announced the acquisition of Mega Fluids Mid-Continent LLC and growth prospect in North America. Canadian Energy shares gave back 17 cents to $11.40
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 3.18 points to 1,236.66
All 14 Toronto subgroups began the day in the red. Real-estate slid 0.6%, while consumer discretionary and material stocks fell 0.4% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were mixed Thursday, a day after logging big gains thanks to the passage of a fiscal cliff deal in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shaved off 28.93 points to 13,383.60, after yesterday’s 300-point-plus gain.
The S&P 500 moved down 1.19 points to 1,461.23. The Nasdaq Composite subsided 2.28 points to 3,109.98
Investors are taking a small step back as they consider the prospect of more wrangling over the U.S. budget in the weeks to come.
Bank stocks, which were among the biggest gainers a day earlier, fell in early trading.
Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase were among the biggest losers on the Dow, while Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo were also lower.
In corporate news, Family Dollar shares plunged after the discount retailer reported earnings that missed forecasts and issued a weak outlook.
Shares of Gap jumped after the retailer reported stronger-than-expected same store sales and announced a new $1-billion stock buyback.
Limited shares slid after the Victoria's Secret owner's same store sales fell short of forecasts.
Shares of spam maker Hormel rallied after the company announced it was paying $700 million U.S. to acquire the Skippy brand.
Economically speaking, investors got a fresh look at the labour market, with the government's weekly report on initial jobless claims and the monthly report on private sector jobs from payroll processor ADP.
The private sector added 215,000 jobs in December, according to ADP. And the government reported first-time jobless claims rose 10,000 to 372,000 in the latest week.
The two jobs reports serve as a prelude to the government's closely watched monthly labor report, due Friday morning. Economists expect job growth continued at a modest pace in December, with employers adding 150,000 jobs.
In November, employers added 146,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% as workers dropped out of the labour force.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note lost ground, boosting yields to 1.85% from Wednesday’s 1.83% Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 17 cents to $92.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $9.40 to $1,679,40 U.S. an ounce.
