Stock prices stepped back somewhat from yesterday’s big rallies as investors paused to examine earnings.
The S&P/TSX composite index demurred 2.38 points to greet noon at 12,582.67
The Canadian dollar inched higher by 0.05 cents to 99.72 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. says it’s planning on creating a $3.5-billion real estate investment trust, with an initial public offering later this year.
The announcement came as the iconic retailer announced a 2.9% increase in first-quarter earnings amid a 1.7% increase in total revenue to $2.48 billion from $2.44 billion in the same 2012 quarter. Canadian Tire stock was up nearly 13%, or $9.77, to $83.81.
BCE Inc. reported a 6.6% increase in net earnings in the first quarter, although revenue remained almost unchanged year over year.
Canada’s largest communications company says net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $566 million or 73 cents per share, up from $531 million or 69 cents in the same 2012 period. Revenue rose only slightly, to $4.34 billion from $4.33 billion. Shares in BCE fell by 0.4%, or 19 cents, to $47.73.
Meanwhile, Bombardier Inc. saw a more than 4% uptick in its shares to $4.43 after it reported a 25% increase in revenue in the first quarter to $4.3 billion U.S. and said its new CSeries airliner remains on schedule.
The Montreal-based plane and train builder says net income was down eight cents per share at $148 million U.S, but up eight cents on an adjusted basis at $156 million U.S.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that new housing prices rose 0.1% in March, following a 0.2% increase in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.07 points to 969.25.
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive by lunch hour, led by gold, up 1.3%, while information technology gained 1.1%, and consumer discretionary issues gained 1%.
The five laggards were anchored by real-estate, down 0.8%, financials, off 0.6%, and health-care, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
As the broader U.S. stock market edged lower Thursday, a few favourites among short sellers were surging following upbeat earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials subsided 6.09 points midday, to 15,099, from Wednesday’s all-time high.
The S&P 500 index subtracted 3.97 points from Wednesday’s all-time peak, to 1,628.72, while the NASDAQ Composite eked up 0.78 points to 3,414.04
All three indexes are up between 13% and 15% since the start of the year.
Tesla rallied after the electric car maker delivered its first-ever profit and topped sales estimates. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shares jumped after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and announced plans to extend its partnership with Starbucks
And Groupon shares rose sharply after the daily deal site reported a narrower loss compared to a year earlier.
One reason all three names were gaining so much traction is due to a so-called short squeeze. Shares of Tesla, Green Mountain and Groupon are heavily shorted, meaning that buyers have borrowed the stocks on a bet that their prices will fall. As the stocks rally, short sellers rush in to buy the stocks in order to cover their short positions before they head even higher.
TechCrunch reported that Microsoft may offer to buy the digital assets of Barnes and Noble's Nook Media e-reader unit for $1 billion U.S. The speculation sparked a 20% surge in Barnes & Noble stock.
Shares of Monster Beverage tumbled after the company's quarterly earnings missed estimates. The energy drink maker, which has been criticized for marketing its highly caffeinated products to children, blamed the drop in earnings on legal costs and other short-term factors.
In other earnings news, DISH Network released quarterly results before the opening bell, showing a decline in sales and profit.
News Corp. shares jumped as well after the media conglomerate said sales rose in the first quarter and reported earnings that met expectations.
Economically speaking, after a solid monthly jobs report last week, the U.S. government said that initial jobless claims dropped further than expected to 323,000 last week, the lowest weekly tally in five years.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury plummeted, lifting yields to 1.80% from Wednesday’s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices backtracked 91 cents to $95.71 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled $7.70 at $1,466 U.S. an ounce
