Markets in Toronto listed lower toward the end of trading Thursday, as the U.S. reported rosier-than-expected unemployment insurance numbers, a sign that the world's largest economy may be continuing with its recovery.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 41.15 points to end the session at 12,543.90
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.37 cents to 99.31 cents U.S.
The technology sector advanced, pushed up by a in share price for smartphone maker BlackBerry amid buzz U.S. business magnate Carl Icahn bought shares. BlackBerry shares were up 59 cents, or 4%, to $15.49.
The real estate sector declined, as Brookfield Asset Management reported that its profits in its latest quarter declined from $722 million to $697 million, sending its stocks down 1.8% to $38.48.
Commodities were retreating from Wednesday's settlement prices when oil, gold and copper all closed at prices not seen in more than a month. It has been a roller-coaster ride recently for commodity prices, which were down earlier in the week.
July copper was down three cents to $3.34 U.S. a pound. In the metals sector, Teck Resources doffed 23 cents to $29.11
In corporate news, Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. said 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 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 11.2%, or $8.32, to $82.36
Meanwhile, Bombardier Inc. saw a 5.7% uptick in its shares to $4.47 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 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 found its way higher 0.41 points to 969.73.
The 14 Toronto subgroups were equally split between gainers and losers. Health-care proved the strongest group, jumping 2.2%, while information technology gained 1.6%, and consumer discretionary stocks climbed 0.7%.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by gold stocks, down 1.4%. real-estate, fading 1.1%, and financials, sliding 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
The broader U.S. stock market was barely moving Thursday, but a few favourites among short sellers were surging following upbeat earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials subsided 22.5 points to 15,082.60, from Wednesday’s all-time high.
The S&P 500 index subtracted 6.02 points from Wednesday’s all-time peak, to 1,626.67, while the NASDAQ Composite faltered 4.10 points to 3,409.17
Still, 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 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. Shares edged lower.
News Corp. shares jumped after the media conglomerate said sales rose in the first quarter and reported earnings that met expectations.
Nearly 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 have now reported results for the first quarter. A majority have topped forecasts for earnings, which are now on track to rise about 5% compared to a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters. But revenue growth has been sub-par.
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 1.81% from Wednesday’s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices fell 60 cents to $96.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled $15.60 at $1,458.10 U.S. an ounce
