The Toronto stock market faded a bit midday Thursday while traders took in the release of job creation data Friday and European leaders considered sanctions against Russia.
The S&P/TSX composite index approached noon hour ET down 9.01 points to 14,295.16
The Canadian dollar gained 0.54 cents at 91.20 cents U.S.
On the corporate front, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said its quarterly adjusted net income came in at 52 cents per share, four cents below estimates.
Cash flow per share was $1.64, which was 10 cents below the estimate. Its quarterly dividend will rise to 22.5 cents per share, up two cents and its shares slipped 12 cents to $40.58.
Engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group reported a quarterly profit of $92.54 million or 61 cents a share, down from $93.84 million a year ago, missing forecasts by a penny. Revenue fell to $2.12 billion in the fourth quarter, down $300 million from a year earlier and its shares fell $1.41 to $46.96.
Auto parts maker Linamar Corp. posted quarterly net earnings of $68.7 million or $1.06 per share, compared with $30.7 million or 47 cents in the same 2012 period. Revenue increased to $926.1 million from $756.5 million and Linamar increased its quarterly dividend by 25% to 10 cents a share. Its shares ran up $1.97 to $51.27.
The base metals sector was up, with May copper one cent higher at $3.21 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gained 83 cents to $25.42.
April crude was down and the energy sector was ahead as Suncor acquired five cents to $36.38
The gold sector was slightly higher while Kinross Gold dipped 11 cents to $5.48
Techs declined, as BlackBerry docked six cents to $11.10.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased 8.5% to $7.0 billion in January, following a 4.8% drop in December.
The improvement in January came from higher construction intentions in the residential sector, which more than offset a decline in the non-residential sector.
Also this morning, Western University’s Ivey School of Business noted that its Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) by the end of February 2014 stood at 57.2, ahead of the 56.8 figure for January, 51.1 for February 2013 and 66.5 for February 2012.
The PMI solicits managers on whether purchases last month were higher, the same, or lower than the previous month. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange grew 10.77 points to 1,040.05.
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, as metals and mining took on 2%, global base metals and materials grew 0.8% each.
The seven laggards were weighed most by health-care issues, down 1.7%, while information technology slid 0.5%, and real-estate gave back 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an all-time high, as data showed jobless claims fell to the lowest level in three months and investors watched developments in Ukraine.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 78.08 points midday to 16,438.26
The S&P 500 index gained 7.14 points to 1,880.95. The NASDAQ added 9.67 points to 4,367.64.
Kroger Co. gained 1.6% after the supermarket chain reported profit and sales that topped estimates. Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. climbed 3.9% after getting regulatory approval for manufacturing stem-cell therapy products.
Costco Wholesale Corp. slipped 3.2% after posting fiscal second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates. Staples Inc. plunged 15% after saying it will close as many as 12% of its North American stores.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. jumped 1% to $58.74 U.S. for a third day of gains and Visa Inc. advanced 1.4% to $225.86 U.S.
Biogen Idec Inc. rose 2.3% to $346.83 U.S. BMO Capital Markets analyst Jim Birchenough raised the drugmaker’s rating to outperform, the equivalent of buy, from market perform, with a 12-month target price of $422 U.S.
Sangamo Biosciences Inc. jumped 20% to $23.56 U.S. after the company said its experimental treatment lowered the amount of HIV in some AIDS patients.
Economically speaking, the U.S. government said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. All eyes will be on the jobs report for February tomorrow. Economists expect that 150,000 jobs were added last month and that the unemployment rate remained steady at 6.6%.
Investors are keeping a close eye on Ukraine. Political leaders in Crimea have called for a referendum this month on whether to remain part of Ukraine or join the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, U.S. and European officials unveiled new sanctions aimed at pressuring the Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for the crisis.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries lost ground, raising yields to 2.73% from Wednesday’s 2.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 74 cents to $100.71 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $9.70 to $1,350.00 U.S. an ounce.
