Canada's main stock index was virtually unchanged at the outset Thursday, as weak euro-zone consumer inflation figures overshadowed positive data that showed Japan's economy grew faster than expected.
The S&P/TSX composite index began Thursday up 11.67 points to 12,485.32
The Canadian dollar subsided 0.08 cents to 98.33 cents U.S.
Falling prices in Germany and France pulled euro-zone consumer inflation to a three-year low in April while imports fell 10% in March, as new data showed the depth of the bloc's downturn.
BMO cut the target price on Copper Mountain to $2 from $3.50 after first-quarter results, saying the company continues to face challenges in attaining design capacity and working capital remains weak. Copper Mountain shares began the session at $1.73, off two cents from Wednesday’s close.
RBC cut the target price on Glacier Media to $1.75 from $2 following weaker-than-expected first-quarter results. Glacier shares were unchanged at $1.58 in the early going.
In the economic file today, Statistics Canada reported this morning that folks offshore acquired $1.2 billion of Canadian securities in March, mostly parking their funds in government bonds.
Meanwhile, Canadian investors added $3.8 billion of foreign securities to their holdings, following a $4.3-billion acquisition in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.10 points to 935.77
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, eight were higher in the first hour. Information technology stocks climbed 0.7%, utilities clicked 0.6% better and real-estate progressed 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by gold, off 2%, metals and mining, down 1.5%, and materials, sliding 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
It's getting tougher to push the market higher, and a series of mixed U.S. economic reports Thursday did not do that.
The Dow Jones Industrials doffed 14.02 points to 15,261.70
The S&P 500 index slid 1.46 points to 1,657.32, while the NASDAQ Composite gained 3.15 points to 3,474.76.
Cisco shares surged after the tech giant topped earnings and sales forecasts. But bullish statements by Cisco's CEO John Chambers about the global economy didn't spill over to the broader market.
Looking at other tech giants, Google shares dipped slightly after topping the $900 U.S. mark for the first time Wednesday.
Investors will look to results from Dell after the bell to learn more about whether the computer maker will be taken private.
Wal-Mart reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings but a decrease in same-store sales. The company said it was held back by a delay in income tax refunds.
Kohl's stock price jumped after the retailer beat its own guidance in quarterly earnings, despite a dip in profit. Struggling J.C. Penney reports results in the afternoon.
Tesla shares rose after the electric car maker announced it was raising capital to repay its government loan early. CEO Elon Musk plans to personally buy $100 million U.S. worth of stock.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government reported that jobless claims were up from a week ago. Additionally, housing starts for April fell and were below forecasts.
A key measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, also fell. Gold prices, which tend to do well during times of inflation, continued to plummet following the CPI report, falling by more than 1%.
Investors were waiting to hear what consumers think about the economy later this morning, when Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan were to release their consumer sentiment index.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained strength, lowering yields to 1.90% from Wednesday’s 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices grew 27 cents to $94.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $20.70 at $1,376.30 U.S. an ounce
