Stocks opened lower on Thursday as Cyprus banks reopened after two weeks with tight restrictions on withdrawals. Moves in shares of BlackBerry were also expected to bear influence.
The S&P/TSX index fell 33.42 soon after the opening bell to 12,666,23
The Canadian dollar sifted off 0.04 cents to 98.35 cents U.S.
BlackBerry revealed an unexpected quarterly profit on demand for the new touchscreen device that holds the key to its successful turnaround. But its revenue remained far below levels for last year at this time.
BlackBerry shares moved ahead 30 cents, or 2%, to begin the session at $15.10.
Suncor Energy Inc said on Wednesday it scrapped its long-delayed and partially built Voyageur oil sands upgrading plant in northern Alberta as competition in the North Dakota Bakken region cut potential returns from the multi-billion-dollar venture. Suncor shares dipped one cent to $30.39.
The National Energy Board agreed to cut fixed tolls on TransCanada Corporation’s mainline, a cross-country natural gas pipeline network, which the regulator says will help keep the system competitive and profitable despite increasing supplies from U.S. shale gas producers. TransCanada shares gave back 32 cents to $48.51.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that the economy grew 0.2% in January, after a 0.2% decrease in December.
Manufacturing was the largest contributor to the January growth in real gross domestic product.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that its Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.4% in February, mostly due to higher petroleum and coal prices. Its Raw Materials Price Index hiked 2.2% as a result of higher prices for crude oil.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell back 0.44 points to 1,097.35
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups lost ground in the day’s first hour. Gold listed lower by 0.8%, while materials stumbled 0.6%, and global base metals faltered 0.5%.
The three gainers were information technology, up 0.8%, utilities, powering up 0.4%, and industrials, 0.2% stronger.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks started the last day of a stellar quarter little changed, as investors monitored the ongoing crisis in Cyprus and mulled over new economic data in the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrials gathered 21.71 points to 14,547.90
The S&P 500 index moved higher by 1.09 points to 1,563.94. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite slid 0.92 points to 3,255.60.
Stocks have been on a tear in 2013. The Dow, which has been trading at record highs since early March, is up more than 11% and poised to book its best first quarter since 1998. The S&P 500 is up almost 10%, and came within 0.06 points of its all-time closing high of 1,565.15, reached in October 2007.
Volume is expected to remain low Thursday, ahead of Good Friday, when markets will be closed in the United States and most of Europe.
In corporate news, struggling smartphone maker Blackberry reported a surprise profit before the opening bell, but sales missed forecasts. The stock rose almost 4% in morning trading.
Banks in Cyprus reopened Thursday morning after being closed since March 16. The island nation plans to limit the amount of money that depositors can withdraw in an attempt to prevent bank runs.
Cyprus agreed early Monday to raise billions of euros from big depositors at the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank of Cyprus, and to shrink its banking sector in return for a €10-billion European Union bailout.
Back in the United States, the government released its weekly data on initial jobless claims and its final reading on fourth-quarter GDP.
Jobless claims totaled 357,000 in the week ended March 23, an increase of 16,000 from the prior week and much worse than expected. The forecast called for a total of 335,000, according to a consensus of economists complied by Briefing.com.
The final government report for fourth-quarter GDP showed an annual increase of 0.4%, slightly higher than the expected increase of 0.3%. The prior reading showed the economy grew at a 0.1% pace.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged a bit, raising yields to 1.86% from Wednesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped two cents to $96.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $8.10 to $1,598.30 U.S. an ounce.
