The Toronto stock market was down slightly Tuesday afternoon with little in the way of major economic news to spur buying or selling.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 29.64 points on the day to 12,156.71.
Analysts said a break was due following a 1.6% rise at the Toronto Stock Exchange over the previous five sessions due to rising commodity prices and positive economic data.
There were also worries that a European bailout plan for Greece would prove insufficient to contain the country’s debt crisis. Reports earlier in the day said that the debt-laden country is trying to renegotiate the terms of its aid package after discovering how stringent any involvement from the International Monetary Fund would be.
A Finance Ministry official later denied those reports. A deal was hammered out last month which would provide Greece with bilateral loans from eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund to avoid default.
Weakness on the Toronto market was led by the industrials sector, down 0.61 per cent. Sector heavyweight Bombardier Inc. gained four cents to $5.63 while Canadian National Railways shed 59 cents to $61.51.
The energy sector was another major loser, down as oil stepped back after a weaker U.S. dollar and positive American economic data helped send crude surging more than eight per cent over the past six sessions. Canadian Natural Resources lost 74 cents to $79.15.
Suncor Inc. dipped a nickel to $35.17 as the company announced that an upgrader at its oilsands facility in Fort McMurray, Alta., is back online ahead of schedule after a fire in early February. Suncor also said Monday that production numbers for March have also surpassed their original estimate -- 245,000 barrels a day over the 230,000 barrels a day originally forecast for the month.
The base metals sector stepped back while May copper was unchanged at $3.63 U.S. a pound. Labrador Iron Mines Holdings declined 43 cents to $7.09 while Equinox Minerals advanced two cents to $4.15.
The TSX global gold index was slightly lower with Goldcorp Inc. down 59 cents to $38.28.
In the telecom sector, BCE Inc. gained 13 cents to $30.43 after the telecom said it has sold its stake in satellite services company SkyTerra Communication Inc. for about $111 million.
SkyTerra, headquartered in Reston, Va., but with offices in Ottawa, provides satellite communications for public safety, security, fleet management and other customers.
Telus Corp. shares rose 63 cents to $38.57 after it announced it’s investing $650 million in British Columbia to extend its advanced wireline and wireless broadband services in that province in order to deliver more high-speed Internet and high-definition digital TV.
In other economic news, WestJet Airlines Ltd. shares dropped three cents to $13.51 after it said Tuesday that its passenger traffic in March was up 10% from the same time last year. That equates to about 94,000 additional passengers. The Calgary-based airline’s load factor -- which is a measure of how full its fleet was -- rose to 83.8%, up 1.9 percentage points from March 2009.
CGI Group Inc. says it will provide software maintenance and development services to Poland’s leading telecommunications provider. The value of CGI’s three-year agreement with Telekomunikacja Polska Group (TP Group) wasn’t disclosed. CGI shares shed five cents to $15.50.
In economic news, Statistics Canada in its annual review released Tuesday said the country's international merchandise trade was affected by the decline of the global economy in 2009. It added that the trade balance went from a surplus of $46.9 billion in 2008 to a deficit of $4.5 billion in 2009, the first deficit since 1975.
The Canadian dollar continued its push toward parity with its American counterpart, gaining 0.07 cents to 99.85 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but four of the 14 TSX subgroups lost ground on the day. The metals and mining group tied with energy for biggest drops, 0.7% each, while materials suffered 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by health-care, 1% fitter, telecoms, up 0.3% and information technology, 0.2% sharper.
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 4.33 points to 1,635.79, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved up 18.75 points to 780.58
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, financial shares rose in an otherwise tepid session Tuesday that nonetheless saw two of the major indexes -- the Nasdaq and the S&P -- finish at their highest levels in more than a year and a-half.
The Dow Jones industrial average shaved off 3.56 points by the closing bell to 10,969.99. The S&P 500 regained two points to 1,189.74, closing at its highest point since Sept. 26, 2008, when it topped 1,200. The Nasdaq gained 7.28 points to 2,436.81, ending at its highest point since Aug. 15, 2008.
Stocks drifted in the morning, but found a little momentum in the afternoon as bank shares bounced and investors digested the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting.
Credit Suisse First Boston reportedly made some bullish comments on SunTrust Banks and Regions Financial giving those stocks a lift. But the broader banking sector was also on the rise, with the KBW Bank index up 2.4%.
Stocks advanced Monday following the three-day Easter weekend, with investors responding favourably to the previous week's jobs report, a strong housing market report and the launch of Apple's iPad device. But there was less on the docket Tuesday and stocks struggled through most of the session.
Investors were also keeping an eye on the Treasury market, a day after the 10-year note yield surged to 4%, the highest level in 18 months. Prices have been sliding and yields rising recently as investors have sought riskier assets amid bets on a bigger recovery.
Also in focus: oil prices, which surged to nearly 18-month highs Tuesday.
In a quiet week for news, reports are due Wednesday on consumer credit, Thursday on jobless claims and Friday on wholesale inventories.
Information reviewed by central bankers at the March 16 Fed policy-setting meeting showed that the economy continues to improve at a moderate pace and the labour market is stabilizing. Higher energy prices have boosted overall consumer price inflation, but prices excluding food and energy were little moved.
On the downside, the recovery could lose momentum amid the still-sluggish housing market and impact from weaker spending at the state and local government level.
At the March 16 meeting, central bankers voted to hold a key short-term interest rate at historic lows near zero and said rates will stay exceptionally low for the foreseeable future.
Massey Energy shares plunged 11% after the company confirmed 25 workers were killed after an explosion at one of its coal mines in West Virginia.
Federal regulators are pushing for a $16.4 million U.S. fine against Toyota Motor for deliberately hiding accelerator problems from officials for months.
The fine is the maximum allowed under the law and follows the recall of more than eight million vehicles due to gas pedal and sudden acceleration problems. Toyota shares were barely lower.
AT&T said it will invest an additional $1 billion U.S. to upgrade its business network and improve services and products for customers. Shares were little changed.
Business software maker CA said full-year profit would hit the low end of its previous forecast and that it would cut about 1,000 jobs. Shares lost 2%.
Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.95% from 3.99% late Monday. The 10-year had risen as high as 4% Monday, an 18-month high. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gained 12 cents to $86.75 U.S.
Gold prices gained a dollar to $1,135 U.S. an ounce.
