Stocks in Toronto gave up some of their gains early Thursday morning as mining shares declined in the early going.
The S&P/TSX composite index slid 33.59 points to open Thursday’s trading at 14,514.67
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.28 cents to 87.53 cents U.S.
Air Canada reported an 8% rise in third-quarter profit as operating margins rose. The Maple Leaf airline gained 35 cents, or 3.9%, to $9.25.
Telecommunications company Telus reported a 5.4% rise in quarterly operating revenue as it added subscribers and its revenue per user rose. Telus dipped 17 cents to $41.20.
Beverage maker Cott Corp said it would buy DSS Group Inc, parent of U.S. direct-to-consumer water and coffee provider DS Services of America Inc, for $1.25 billion. Cott shares rocketed 78 cents, or 11.3%, to $7.69.
Canadian Natural Resources posted an 11% fall in third-quarter profit, mainly due to lower realized prices for crude oil. Natural Resources gained 21 cents to $38.47.
Quebecor reported a quarterly profit, compared with a year-earlier loss, helped by a large non-cash gain. Quebecor shares 39 cents to $28.67.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that municipalities issued building permits worth $7.5 billion in September, up 12.7% from August, following a 27.3% decrease the previous month.
The agency attributes the September spike to higher construction intentions for both non-residential and residential buildings in Ontario.
Elsewhere, Western University said its purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.2 last month from a reading of 58.6 in September. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 57.0 in October.
The survey asks purchasing managers whether their buys increased, decreased or stayed the same during the month. A figure above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 0.93 points to open Thursday at 746.18.
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in the first hour of trading, with metals and mining down 1.3%, energy lower by 1.1%, and telecoms sliding 0.7%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 4.1%, materials, better by 1.6%, and information technology, climbing 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The U.S. stock market was stalled at record levels on Thursday, as investors assessed the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi’s dovish comments after the bank left the key interest rate unchanged.
The Dow Jones Industrials erased 20.32 points to 17,464.21
The S&P 500 lost 6.09 points to 2,017.48. The NASDAQ index fell 15.38 points to 4,605.34.
Tesla was up after the electric-car maker’s results topped expectations, though it lowered its delivery forecast for 2014.
Whole Foods climbed after the upscale grocer reported a rise in third-quarter earnings and lifted its quarterly dividend.
The Walt Disney Co., Zynga Inc., and King Digital Entertainment PLC all report earnings on Thursday.
Apple Inc. could draw attention after Palo Alto Networks Inc said it has discovered a new malware threat that could threaten millions of Apple Inc. devices.
Better-than-expected jobless claims data as well as productivity report aided sentiment.
In economic news, the number of Americans applying for new jobless benefits lingered below 300,000 for the eighth straight week amid the lowest level of layoffs in years. U.S. productivity in the third quarter grew at a 2% annual pace, preliminary data show, marking the fourth sizable increase in the past five quarters.
ECB President Mario Draghi reiterated that ECB policy makers are unanimously committed to using unconventional measures if needed to maintain price stability. In other words, the ECB could use outright QE, if deemed necessary.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.35%.
Oil prices dropped $1.53 to $77.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped 80 cents to $1,144.90 U.S. an ounce.
