The Toronto stock market was virtually unchanged early Thursday, amid another run of strong earnings reports from the banking sector while traders looked to remarks later in the morning from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up but 5.48 points to begin Thursday at 14,194.06
The Canadian dollar shed 0.12 cents to 89.72 cents U.S.
CIBC posted quarterly net income of $1.18 billion, up nearly 50% from a year ago and partly due to its sale of half its Aeroplan credit card business to TD Bank. Ex-items, earnings were up 6.3% to $951 million or $2.31 a share, 15 cents better than estimates. CIBC shares hiked $1.24 to $91.83.
TD had $2.04 billion of net income in the first quarter, up 14% from a year earlier. TD’s adjusted net income was $2.02 billion, or $1.06 per common share, two cents ahead of estimates.
TD hiked its dividend by 9% to 47 cents per share while CIBC’s will be going up about 2% to 98 cents per share. TD shares eked up two cents to $49.44.
National Bank, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank also posted solid earnings this week that beat expectations.
In other earnings news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International reported quarterly net income of $124 million, or 36 cents per share, compared to a loss of $89.1 million, or 29 cents per share a year ago. Revenues in the quarter were $2.1 billion, up 109% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Valeant shares popped $3.42, or 2.1%, in Thursday’s first hour to $165.80.
There was also acquisition activity as online optical company Coastal.com is being sold to France-based Essilor International for $445 million. The Vancouver-based company, which operates such websites as ClearlyContacts.com, says Essilor has offered $12.45 per share in cash for all of its shares. Coastal shares shot up $2.11, or 20.3%, to $12.50.
The federal government has again rejected a proposed $1.5-billion, open-pit, gold-copper mine in British Columbia’s Interior over environmental concerns.
The environment department rejected Taseko Mines’ New Prosperity Gold Copper Mine for a second time because it will cause significant adverse environmental effects that can’t be mitigated. Taseko shares slipped 12 cents to $2.25.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.41 points to 1,011.57.
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, led by information technology and gold, each up 0.7%, while global base metals added 0.4%.
The five laggards were weighed by health-care issues, sliding 2.9%, while consumer discretionary dipped 0.2%, and energy faded 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were pointed slightly downward Thursday morning as investors geared up for testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and dug into the earnings of some troubled retailers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved downward 30.06 points to 16,168.35
The S&P 500 index faded 3.38 points to 1,841.78. The NASDAQ lost 6.21 points to 4,285.85
Shares of J.C. Penney soared more than 21% after the retailer reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and said it expects same-store sales to rise by 3% to 5% during the current quarter. After a rough few years, investors may be getting hopeful that the company can finally deliver on its much-hyped turnaround strategy.
Best Buy shares also jumped after the electronics retailer reported quarterly earnings that had returned to profit from earlier losses. The company has experienced its fair share of problems in recent years as consumers have turned to online shopping.
Tesla shares were also getting a boost Thursday morning after the automaker announced it was raising $1.6 billion U.S. to fund its expansion plans. The electric car company's stock has continued its stratospheric rise, soaring almost 50% in the last month and hitting a high of $265 U.S. per share Wednesday.
Shares of Chinese search engine Baidu popped after the company posted solid earnings and sales.
Investors around the world are once again turning to the Fed for clues about monetary policy.
Yellen will testify before the Senate Banking Committee this morning. The Fed began dialing back its unprecedented stimulus in December, and is currently purchasing $65 billion U.S. in bonds per month, down from a monthly $85 billion U.S. last year.
Investors were also keeping a close eye on the tension in Ukraine. European markets were under pressure in afternoon trading as traders fretted about the formation of a new Ukrainian government and its increasingly dire economic situation.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were higher, lowering yields to 2.65% from Wednesday’s 2.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved lower 49 cents to $102.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gave back $14.20 to $1,328.50 U.S. an ounce.
