The Toronto stock market was lower Tuesday amid a heavy slate of earnings and a forecast that sees slower global economic growth.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 84.74 points to close Tuesday at 14,612.37
The Canadian dollar was stronger by 0.65 cents at 91.92 cents U.S.
On the earnings front, BCE Inc. posted quarterly net earnings of $615 million, up 8.7% from a year ago, led by growth in its wireless and media divisions.
Adjusted net earnings were $626 million or 81 cents, up 4.5% from a year ago and five cents better than forecast, but its shares lost 60 cents to $48.36 as revenue missed expectations. BCE shares dipped 46 cents to $48.50.
WestJet recorded quarterly net earnings of $89.3 million, or 69 cents per diluted share, compared with $91.1 million, or 69 cents a year ago. WestJet says total revenue totaled $1.042 billion, a gain of 7.7% over the same period of 2013. Westjet shares dropped 51 cents to $24.46.
George Weston Ltd. reports quarterly net profit down 32.7% from a year ago to $109 million or 78 cents a share. Sales were up 1.6% at $7.61 billion. The company is increasing its quarterly dividend to 42 cents from 41.5 cents.
Adjusted earnings per share of 83 cents beat estimates of 76 cents, but George Weston also warned its second-quarter results will face pressure from higher costs. Its shares drifted 14 cents lower to $81.88.
After the close, Sun Life Financial will post its quarterly earnings report. Sun shares tumbled 16 cents to $37.45.
The tech sector declined, with BlackBerry down 31 cents to $8.37.
The base metals sector dropped with July copper unchanged at $3.06 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources fell 17 cents to $24.57
June bullion faded and the gold sector shed some strength. Barrick Gold sank 13 cents to $18.97.
The energy sector was off while Imperial Oil acquired 10 cents to $53.74
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our exports declined 1.4% in March, while imports edged up 0.4%.
As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the world narrowed from $847 million in February to $79 million in March.
Elsewhere, Western University’s Ivey Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) by the end of April 2014 stood at 54.1, compared to 55.2 in March, and 52.2 in April 2013.
The PMI asks company purchasing managers whether they spent more, less, or the same the month before. A figure above 50 shows an increase while below 50 shows a decrease.
Moreover, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said the global economy will grow by 3.4% this year, down from its forecast of 3.6% growth last November.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is forecast to grow 2.6% this year against last November's 2.9% estimate.
The news is better for Canada: economic growth is projected to accelerate to 2.75% by 2015.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 3.83 points to 1,005.62
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, with health-care stumbling 2.5%, information technology swooning 2%, and global base metals faltering 1.1%.
The one gainer was in telecoms, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Tuesday has been a lucky day for stock market bulls, but this particular Tuesday is not working out for them.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 129.53 points to 16,401.02
The S&P 500 subtracted 16.94 points to 1,867.72, and the NASDAQ composite index dumped 57.30 points to 4,080.76.
It's a sharp break from the recent Tuesday trend. TheS&P 500 has gained every Tuesday for the past eight weeks. So far this year, the index has advanced every Tuesday except for two.
Twitter shares led the plunge, hitting a new low as the "lockup" period for company insiders to sell the stock expired. Under federal securities law, company founders and executives must wait six months before selling any shares following an initial public offering.
The stock is now trading under $33 U.S. a share -- that's still above its IPO price of $26 U.S. -- but it's the lowest trading price yet for the social media giant.
Other so-called momentum stocks -- those that have rich valuations following big gains in the past year -- were also taking a beating.
Netflix, TripAdvisor and Amazon were all down sharply.
Apple shares erased earlier gains, but managed to hold above $600 U.S. The stock closed above that level Monday for the first time since October 2012. Apple recently announced a stock split that will take place in early June.
Drugmaker Merck announced that it will sell its consumer care business to Bayer AG for $14.2 billion U.S. It was the latest in a recent spate of larger mergers in the pharmaceutical industry. Merck stock is down today.
Target continues to drop. Shares are down more than 3% again today. Target's CEO announced he was stepping down yesterday, adding to concerns about the direction the company is headed.
DirecTV shares gained after the satellite TV company reported stronger-than-expected earnings, despite a quarterly slide in net profit year over year. It's one of the top performers in the S&P 500 today.
Office Depot shares also surged after announcing solid earnings and plans to close 400 stores.
Well-known brands Groupon, Disney and Whole Foods will report after the close.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries eked higher, lowering yields to 2.59% from Monday’s 2.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up 17 cents to $99.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.30 to $1,308.00 U.S. an ounce.
