Stocks in Toronto were virtually unchanged at the open on Thursday as the United States entered a third day of a partial government shutdown, with no end in sight.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 24.09 points to commence Thursday at 12,814.91
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.10 cents to 96.84 cents U.S.
Fertilizer giant Agrium Inc said Chief Operating Officer Chuck Magro would take over as CEO from Mike Wilson, who retires on Dec. 31.
The company also said Magro will join Agrium's board immediately. Agrium shares advanced 97 cents to $89.26
TransCanada Corp. expects testing on its Keystone XL crude pipeline to be completed in early November and it will begin filling the line for the first time shortly afterwards. TransCanada shares fell 24 cents to $44.95
Raymond James raised the rating of Aurico Gold’s U.S. listed shares to outperform from market perform, saying continued de-risking, coupled with a growing valuation divide, presents opportunity. Aurico shares picked up 14 cents to begin Thursday at $3.99
National Bank Financial raised the rating on Perpetual Energy to outperform from sector perform, says the company is relatively well positioned heading in to the winter, supported by solid catalysts, improving fundamentals and tailwinds from broader corporate themes.
Perpetual shares gained four cents to 98 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.69 points to 948.02
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower at the outset, weighed mostly by information technology, down 1%, while telecoms and industrials slid 0.6% each.
The four gainers were led by health-care, up 0.7%, gold, up 0.3%, and materials, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell again Thursday as Washington remains paralyzed and the nation approaches the deadline for raising the U.S. debt ceiling.
The Dow Jones Industrials backtracked 108.46 points to begin the session at 15,024.70
The S&P 500 index dipped 8.42 points to 1,685.45. The NASDAQ tumbled 21.28 points to 3,793.73
Tesla's stock continued to fall Thursday morning after a fiery crash near Seattle, Wash., which sparked concerns about the safety of the car maker's Model S sedan. Tesla said the fire happened after the car crashed into a "large metallic object."
United Technologies shares were down nearly 1% after the defense contractor announced that it would likely furlough 2,000 workers starting next week, thanks to the government shutdown.
About 800,000 federal employees have already been furloughed.
Meetings at the White House between congressional leaders and President Obama have failed to produce a breakthrough. That's making investors jittery.
More troubling for Wall Street is the risk that the political stalemate could prevent thedebt ceiling from being raised, meaning the government may not be able to pay all its bills later this month.
Economically speaking, about 308,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits last week, up 1,000 from the prior week, the government reported Thursday morning. The U.S. Department of Labor's contingency plan allows for the release of the weekly jobless claims report during a shutdown.
The overall initial claims figure remains near its lowest level since 2007 -- an encouraging sign that layoffs are back to pre-recession levels.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.64% from Wednesday’s 2.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices nicked up three cents to $104.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices capsized $10.60 at $1,310.10 U.S. an ounce.
