Markets in Toronto were virtually unchanged on Thursday, even as upbeat earnings from heavyweights such as Apple and Facebook outweighed weak results from Potash Corp.
The S&P/TSX composite index inched 3.47 points to begin Thursday at 14,536.86
The Canadian dollar added 0.03 cents at 90.67 cents U.S.
Potash, the world's biggest fertilizer company, said it expects a weaker second-quarter after reporting a fall in first-quarter profit. Its shares gained nine cents to $38.44.
The disagreements around the spinout of certain assets that had snagged merger talks between Barrick Gold Corp and Newmont Mining Corp have been resolved but talks are at a standstill for now. Barrick shares picked up nine cents to $19.68.
Nautilus Minerals Inc said it had signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea to move towards production at its Solwara 1 underwater copper mining project. Nautilus shares zoomed five cents to 28.5 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.49 points to 1,013.47
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher early on, with consumer discretionaries up 0.5%, real-estate, up 0.3%, and telecoms, inching up 0.2%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by gold, down 0.6%, consumer staples and industrials each off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
A burst of optimism early Thursday faded fast as investors looked past strong quarterly reports from Apple and Facebook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average backtracked 4.14 points to 16,497.51
The S&P 500 eked forward 2.53 points to 1,877.92, and the NASDAQ composite index advanced 11.16 to 4,138.13.
Stocks opened higher as investors cheered strong quarterly earnings from Apple and Facebook. But the early advance faded as so-called momentum stocks, which have been volatile recently, came under pressure. Biotechnology firms and some cloud computing companies were among the hardest hit.
Apple shares rallied after the company said late Wednesday that it was expanding its stock buyback program and increasing its dividend, while reporting quarterly results that beat expectations.
The iPhone maker also revealed a seven-to-one stock split, which will make it easier for individual investors to buy a slice of the tech giant. A single share in Apple currently costs over $500.
Facebook also beat expectations, helped by strong mobile advertising numbers.
Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon and Baidu are slated to report after the market closes.
Thursday is a busy day for earnings reports as well. General Motors reported a $1.3-billion U.S. charge relating to a massive recall involving faulty ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths. But excluding that charge and other one-time items, GM's earnings easily topped forecasts.
Caterpillar reported earnings that topped analysts' expectations and issued an upbeat outlook. UPS blamed the snowy weather for weak first quarter results even though people have been sending more packages, especially e-commerce sites.
Shares of AstraZenec gained after the firm reported better-than-expected earnings. AstraZeneca was in the spotlight earlier this week after it was reported that Pfizer had considered buying the company for £60 billion ($100 billion U.S). Some think an offer may yet come.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Alstom shares surged by roughly 12% Thursday following a Bloomberg report that General Electric may make a multi-billion-dollar bid for the company. The French maker of turbines and trains said it was "not informed" of a takeover offer.
On the economic front, the U.S. Department of Labor reported initial jobless claims in the U.S. hiked to 329,000 last week from 305,000 the week before. The Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders gained 2.6% in March, the biggest gain in four months.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.69%.
Oil prices climbed 41 cents to $101.85 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired seven dollars at $1,291.80 U.S. an ounce.
