Canadian markets were mostly flat Thursday, a possible sign of diminishing euphoria from the U.S. Federal Reserve's unexpected decision to continue with its monetary stimulus program.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained negative 4.62 points to end Thursday at 12,926.78, after a nearly three-digit gain on Wednesday
The Canadian dollar erased 0.39 cents to 97.65 cents U.S.
On the TSX, the gold sector saw the worst declines. Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. dropped 3.5%, or 72 cents, to $19.94 and shares in Goldcorp. Inc. also dipped 4%, or $1.17, to $28.02.
The metals and mining sector was up as December copper saw an uptick of seven cents to $3.35 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources saw its shares lose 10 cents to $29.34, while Sheritt International surrendered four cents to $3.85. The energy sector fell, while shares in Imperial Oil ditched seven cents to $44.88, and Suncor Energy was lower by 29 cents to $37.11
As the controversy swirled as to the future of BlackBerry, the smartphone maker’s stock found its way higher by 18 cents to $10.82. The latest reports have the Waterloo, Ontario-based company earmarking job cuts involving up to 40% of its workforce, as it struggles toward profitability.
On the economic stage today, Statistics Canada reported that July wholesale trade hiked 1.5% to $49.5 billion, following a 3.1% decline the month before. In volume terms, wholesale sales were up 1.4%.The market call was for a rise of 1.2% during the month.
The nation’s number-crunchers also said that the number of regular Employment Insurance beneficiaries fell by 10,900, or 2.1%, in July to 503,900. This drop brings the number of beneficiaries to a level similar to that observed before the start of the labour-market downturn in 2008.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeaked higher 0.02 points to 952.81
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, the former group being co-led by health-care and utilities stock, each springing up 1.4%, while telecoms improved 0.9%.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 3.2%, while materials slid 1.6%, and global base metals demurred 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors were party-weary Thursday as stocks were mixed a day after the Federal Reserve's surprise decision to keep its stimulus in place lifted two key market indexes to all-time highs.
The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 40.39 points, to 15,636.50
The S&P 500 index gave back 3.18 points to 1,722.34. The NASDAQ tacked on 5.74 points to 3,789.38.
Though stocks have surged this year, many analysts think the broader market still remains attractive.
The S&P 500 is currently trading at about 16.5 times earnings from last year, just slightly above the historical average of 16, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data. In the bubble days of 2000, the index was trading at nearly 30 times trailing earnings.
Shares of Take-Two Interactive rose after the company said its latest game, Grand Theft Auto V, raked in $800 million U.S. in worldwide retail sales on Tuesday, the day it was released. The increase in Take-Two is yet another home run for Carl Icahn, who is the biggest shareholder of the company. Icahn has had huge success this year with stakes in Netflix and Herbalife as well.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares rallied to a record high after analysts at Deutsche Bank raised their price target to $200 U.S. per share.
Groupon shares jumped after after Stifel Nicolaus analysts upgraded the stock to buy from hold. Shares of fellow social media stock Facebook advanced to an all-time high above $46 per share.
JPMorgan Chase agreed Thursday to pay about $920 million U.S. in fines to U.S. and U.K. regulators to settle charges related to the "London Whale" trading debacle.
Investors were happy that the Fed chose to not cut back on, or taper, the size of its bond buying program just yet. This so-called quantitative easing has been supporting stock markets around the world. Many had expected the Fed to announce on Wednesday that it would begin tapering.
On the economic front, U.S. jobless claims rose last week but still came in below expectations. Analysts were expecting a higher figure because the previous reading was distorted, as computer glitches caused two states to report incomplete results.
Existing home sales unexpectedly rose in August, to an annual rate of almost 5.5 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's the highest rate since February 2007.
A report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank showed that manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region expanded more than expected in September, as the index rose to its highest level since March 2011.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, raising yields to 2.74% from Wednesday’s 2.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell one dollar to $107.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices leaped $66.30 at $1,373.90 U.S. an ounce.
