Toronto's main stock index closed lower on Thursday after a large mid-day swing that had Bay St. in the green after a very weak open. When all was said and done, the U.S. market data was perceived as primarily bearish and investors saw the opportunity to secure profits from a strong month. Canada's consumer staple index dropped for a third day.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 45.47 points, or 0.37%, to 12,101.79.
The number of Canadians receiving regular employment insurance benefits fell 4.5% in July from the previous month, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. There were 672,170 EI beneficiaries during the month, down 31,350 from June, the federal agency said. The July level is down 15.4% from the same month a year earlier.
The brightspot -- The healthcare sector was 1 of only 2 subindices that closed green, up .41%, led by Biovail which closed up over 4% percent in anticipation of next week's shareholder vote on its merger with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.
Always in the News -- Potash Corp lost .52% after filing a lawsuit against BHP Billiton in attempt to fight off the miner's $39 billion hostile takeover bid.
Canada's Manulife Financial Corp., North America's third-largest insurer and Canada's largest, dropped by 0.7% after the U.S. Labor Department announced a rise in first-time unemployment applications.
The bankruptcy filing of Blockbuster in the United States will not affect stores in Canada. Blockbuster Canada vice-president and general manager Barry Guest stated ''Blockbuster Canada operates independently of the U.S. and is financially stable.''
In the energy sector -- Fort Chicago Energy Partners (T.FCE.UN) is up 9 cents to $11.43.
Shares of Bonterra Energy Corp. continue north as today they made a new high of $42.00.
Pristine Power is rolling and made a new high of $2.99 after the news that was released yesterday that Pristine is being acquired by Fort Chicago Energy Partners.
Commodity Producers are weak. Suncor Energy Inc. down 1.1 per cent and Teck Resources Ltd. down 2.3 per cent.
On the gold front -- Gold stocks are trading down this morning.
Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest producer, is down .84% to $48.25. Kinross is down; dropping .10% to $19.43.
The Canadian dollar made up ground against the U.S. dollar and was trading up .000065 of a cent to .96756 cents US.
ON BAYSTREET
Two of the TSX subgroups closed in the green. Health care stocks were up .41% and telecom services closed ahead .28%.
On the downside -- Industrials closed down .89%, real estate finished down .87% and consumer staples ended down .83%.
The TSX Venture Exchange closed down .67 points, to 1688.03, while the Nasdaq Canada index closed red as well; down 5.44 points to 603.32.
ON WALLSTREET
After a brief early afternoon rally, stocks fell into the close today on bearish sentiment towards a jump in unemployment claims and more signs of trouble for Europe's economy. Data showed a lower level of business activities in the 16 countries that use the euro.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 76.89 points, or .72% at 10,662.42. The S&P 500 closed down by 9.45 points, or .83%, to 1124.83. The NASDAQ closed red as well; down 7.47 points, or .32%, to 2327.08.
Gold does it again -- Gold closed at yet another record high at $1,296.30 an ounce.
Investors watching -- Nike earnings coming out after hours
Bristol Meyers Squibb announced today that it will be cutting 3% of workforce as a cost-cutting measure.
Walt Disney was the weakest Dow component, dropping 2.6%, to $33.12. General Electric was a close second, losing 36 cents to $16.14. Not to be left out of the race, J.P. Morgan Chase fell 84 cents, to $39.10.
Shares of retailers have rallied this afternoon. Although there is no news to report, shares of Amazon.com are leading the herd; up to a new all-time high at $155.44. Office Depot is up 7.92% in early afternoon trading.
Bankruptcy Rumor Confirmed -- Blockbuster Inc confirmed rumors this morning as the Company is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Among some of the big U.S. movers, General Electric Co. is down 1.2% ad JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 1.5%. Even McDonald’s Corp., which boosted its dividend by 11 per cent, fell 0.2 per cent.
Among stocks in focus -- Steelcase is flying today on increased revenues. Shares are up 17.79% to $7.71.
Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is up $.95, or 28.79% to $4.25.
Red Hat moving north fast on strong earnings; up 10.88%.
Apple continues to make new 52-week highs; up to $290.37.
The US Dollar is making up ground against the euro this morning; up .5560%, but losing ground to the yen; down .2484%.
Oil futures for November delivery slid $.21 this morning to $74.49 a barrel.
Bonds: The yield on the 10-year bond decreased 1.95% to $2.51.
