Equities in Toronto made marginal gains on Thursday as investors were upbeat a day after U.S. Federal Reserve made moves to cut its massive bond-buying program.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 8.72 points to open at 14,660.59
The Canadian dollar fell 0.17 cents at 91.06 cents U.S.
Bombardier reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as it earned less from the sale of its aircraft. Bombardier shares collapsed 36 cents, or 8.2%, to $4.05
Manulife Financial Corp said its first-quarter profit rose by more than 50% helped by a stronger investment performance. Manulife shares gained 33 cents to begin the day at $20.91.
Oil and gas producer Penn West Petroleum reported a 5% fall in gross revenue after production decreased 22%. Penn West shares hiked 40 cents, or 4%, to $10.31.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 0.42 points to 1,001.92
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in the first hour, weighed mostly by gold stocks, down 0.9%, while industrials and consumer staples faded 0.5% each.
The half-dozen laggards were led by health-care stocks, the far-and-away winner with a 4.5% gain. Metals and mining issues improved 0.5% and consumer discretionary stocks 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks started the month on an apprehensive note as investors digest the latest stream of earnings reports, economic indicators and yesterday's record high for blue-chip stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average backed off 27.42 points to begin the day at 16,553.42
The S&P 500 dropped 2.94 points to 1,881.01, and the NASDAQ composite index inched higher 3.44 points to 4,118.
MasterCard rallied 3% after the card giant logged stronger-than-expected results powered by double-digit volume growth. ExxonMobil flirted with record highs as investors cheered the energy giant's big earnings beat and largely overlooked a modest revenue miss.
Shares of Avon Products tumbled 8% as investors fretted about the cosmetic company's big earnings miss amid an 11% drop in revenue. Avon also put to bed a long-running bribery probe by agreeing to pay $135 million U.S. in fines to U.S. regulators.
Sony Corp slumped 4% after slashing its profit outlook and projecting a first-quarter loss. LinkedIn and Kraft Foods are set to report after the close, among others.
Shares of DirectTV spiked 5% on talk that AT&T may be making a bid for the satellite TV company.
T-Mobile US popped 7% amid renewed speculation of a tie-up with Sprint. T-Mobile, the fourth largest U.S. wireless provider, also said it added 1.3 million subscribers in the first quarter, although that didn't prevent a loss of $151 million U.S.
Confirming recent reports, Ford said CEO Alan Mulally will step down on July and be succeeded by Mark Fields, who has served as chief operating officer since late 2012. Also, KFC and Pizza Hut owner Yum Brands said Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed will replace David Novak in January.
On the economic front, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to a nine-week high of 344,000 last week, well ahead of estimates. The government also said consumer spending jumped by a stronger-than-expected 0.9% in March, the fastest pace since August 2009.
The latest manufacturing data, the Institute for Supply Management index, was set for release this morning.
But the focus will shift after the closing bell to the government's all important jobs report. Economists predict the U.S. added 210,000 new jobs in April, bringing the unemployment down to 6.6% from 6.7%.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.65%.
Oil prices settled 29 cents to $99.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $15.30 to $1,280.60 U.S. an ounce.
