Stocks in Toronto opened lower on Thursday as a fresh crisis in the Italian government coupled with disappointing European corporate results hit investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX composite index slumped 13.48 points to begin Thursday trading at 13,887.01
The Canadian dollar gained 0.02 cents to 90.90 cents U.S.
Bombardier Inc reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit due to a fall in gross margin and forecast a slowdown in revenue growth at its rail unit this year. Bombardier shares began the day down 46 cents, or 11.4%, to $3.58
Barrick Gold Corp reported a big fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as it took another impairment charge, cut its gold reserve estimate by 26% and said a key cost measure might rise this year. Barrick climbed 67 cents, or 3.2%, to $21.48.
Manulife Financial Corp reported a 20% rise in fourth-quarter profit as stronger mutual fund sales and a $350-million gain on the sale of its Taiwan insurance business offset weaker insurance sales, but results still fell short of estimates. Manulife dipped 39 cents to $20.52.
Encana Corp. reported a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly operating profit as the company ramped up production of liquids such as light oil and condensate. Encana shares acquired 19 cents to $20.67.
Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta faces a showdown with his own centre-left party on Thursday that could lead to his resignation and the appointment of Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi as head of a new government within days.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada told us this morning that its new housing price index rose 0.1% in December, following no change in November. Monthly price movements have been fairly static since June 2012.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 3.77 points to 977.96
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers. Gold surged 1.6%, while materials and health-care each took on 0.3%.
The seven laggards were weighed most by metals and mining, which took a 2.3% beating, while industrials faded 1.3%, and global base metals fell 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors have a mega media merger to digest Thursday, but it's not giving the broader market a boost. A bad batch of economic data and lackluster earnings weighed on stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 33.49 points soon after the opening bell to 15,930.45.
The S&P 500 index slipped 2.66 points to 1,816.60. The NASDAQ inched up 0.87 points to 4,202.16
Corporate earnings weren't particularly good. Shares of Dow component Cisco fell after the company's weak revenue guidance disappointed investors.
Despite reporting lower revenue and earnings, Cisco raised its dividend.
But cable stocks were moving dramatically after Comcast announced plans to acquire Time Warner Cable in a $45-billion U.S. deal that would combine the two biggest cable companies in the United States.
Time Warner Cable shares jumped on the news, while Comcast fell. Shares of Charter Communications, a smaller cable company that had hoped to acquire Time Warner Cable, plunged. Shares of Cablevision Systems, which some feel could be the next cable company to be taken over, were flat after opening sharply higher.
In other company news, PepsiCo announced an increase in quarterly profit and revenue. Shares made slight gains.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company reported an increase in operating income for the quarter, compared to a year earlier, but a decline in revenue.
Netflix said it acquired the rights for the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." The stock was up slightly and is near an all-time high.
Investors were disappointed after a government report showed retail sales unexpectedly fell in January. Economists were looking for no change last month, but sales dropped 0.4%. Excluding auto sales, sales were flat. Higher-than-expected unemployment claims also didn't help.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries regained lost ground, dropping yields to 2.74% from Wednesday’s 2.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 27 cents to $100.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tacked on 60 cents to $1,295.90 U.S. an ounce.
