The Toronto stock market made marginal gains at Friday’s open after worries about the future of U.S. economic stimulus brought the TSX lower over the past two sessions.
The S&P/TSX composite index progressed 49.94 points to begin Friday at 12,689.91
The Canadian dollar fell 0.65 to 97.53 cents U.S.
In Canada, conglomerate Onex Corp. recorded a $77-million net loss in the fourth quarter. Revenue at the company, which buys, sells and manages a wide range of businesses in several industries, was $6.9 billion, up 2% from a year before. Onex shares added 28 cents to $45.92 early on Friday.
On Thursday, after the markets closed, fertilizer giant Agrium Inc., reported quarterly net earnings of $354 million, or $2.34 per share, beating expectations of $2.02 a share. Sales were $3.26 billion, in line with expectations.
The company is embroiled in a proxy fight with its largest shareholder, Jana Partners LLC, which holds a 6.5% stake in Agrium. It wants Agrium to split its retail division, which sells seeds, fertilizers and other products to farmers, from its wholesale segment. Agrium shares faded $5.43, or 5%, to $103.32.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us this morning that consumer prices rose 0.5% in the 12 months to January, following a 0.8% increase in December. The agency also reported that, on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index decreased 0.1% in January after posting no change in December.
What’s more, retail sales ended a five-month winning streak by declining 2.1% in December. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales decreased 0.9%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.80 points to 1,141.77
All 14 Toronto subgroups gained ground at the outset, led by the gold and metals and mining group, each up 1%, while energy took on 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks bounced back Friday on the heels of better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard and AIG.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average restored 41.15 points to 13,921.80
The S&P 500 index gained 5.19 points to 1,507.61. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite regained 13.39 points to 3,144.88
Friday's gains follow two days of selloffs that marked the biggest two-day drop in U.S. stocks this year.
All three indexes are on track for their worst week of 2013. A pullback is not unusual though, given how well the market has done so far this year. Investors rushed back into stocks at the beginning of the year, and continue to add money to the U.S. stock market, but at a much more tempered pace.
Despite the recent losses, the Dow is still up nearly 6% since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 has gained 5% and the NASDAQ Composite is up almost 4%.
After the closing bell Thursday, Hewlett Packard reported its first-quarter profit fell 11% from a year ago, and sales declined 6%. But expectations for HP are so low that the figures came in above analysts' estimates, sending shares of HP up 8%.
AIG also reported better-than-expected earnings after the bell on Thursday, pushing the stock up nearly 5%.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were higher, pushing yields down to 1.96% from Thursday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took off six cents to $92.78 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $2.50 to $1,576.10 U.S. an ounce.
