Toronto's main stock index slinked their way into negative territory after starting out with a nice push on good manufacturing data from the United States and China. Sliding gold prices left the subindex as one of the leading laggards of the day and the same story about caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement on monetary easing was once again a buzz amongst traders.
The S&P/TSX Composite closed down by 11.43 points, or .09%, to 12,664.81.
The price of oil for November delivery is up; gaining 1.87% to $82.95.
Gold for December delivery is red at the moment; down $6.90 at $1,350.20.
The Canadian Dollar is up against the US Dollar at the moment; ahead by .0033 of a cent to .983575 U.S. cents.
CLOSING NEWS --
Gold drags -- Gold plays put a bit of a sting on the market today as the precious metal dropped nearly $7 per ounce. Barrick Gold saw shares fall .61% to $48.84 and Goldcorp (ABX.TO) dropping 0.61 percent to C$48.82, and Goldcorp saw shares of T.GO drop .99% to close at $45.09.
Fins drop -- Financial stocks didn't help overall mood sentiment as shares of Toronto Dominion Bank lost .12% to $73.76 and shares of Royal Bank of Canada dropped .44% to close at $54.14.
Saving Grace -- Energy plays kept the markets from running further into the red as shares of Suncor Energy climbed 1.07% to $33.03 and Canadian Natural Resources bumped the price per share up .11% to $37.17.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
Drug and medical device maker, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, inked an agreement with its debt holders that will reduce its total debt by $250 million and is seeing shares of T.ANP get pummeled; trading down 39% to $.31.
Rating Upgrades --
Versant raised its rating of Boralex Inc. to buy and its price target from $10 to $11 as well as the price target for Creston Moly to $.70 from $.55. Shares of T.BLX are trading up 2.50% to $8.61 and shares of V.CMS are trading up 3.23% to $.48.
Raymond James raised its rating of CGI Group from market perform to outperform. Shares of T.GIB.A are trading up .76% to $15.81.
Ratings Downgrade --
Raymond James cut its rating of Heroux Devtek from strong buy to outperform. Shares of T.HRX are trading up 1.84% to $6.09.
MORNING NEWS --
Bid Up? -- Even though it hasn’t received the blessing of the Canadian government yet, BHP Billiton is rumored to be planning of raising its $39 billion bid to takeover Potash Corp. Shares of T.POT are trading down .09% to $147.36 this morning.
Oil producer, Nexen Inc. struck a deal with Ensco Plc. Regarding the newly built deepwater rig that has been a source of dispute for the two companies. Shares of T.NXY have slid from highs, but are still trading up .46% to $21.80.
Oil and gas company, Sterling Resources Ltd. reported this morning that it has ended its farm-in agreement with U.K.-based Melrose Resources Plc for its blocks in Romania. The Company still intends to continue forward with offshore activities with other assignees. Shares of V.SLG are trading down .95% to $3.12.
ON BAYSTREET
Seven of the TSX Subgroups closed in the green today. Metals and mining issues finished up by .44% followed by real estate; up .42% and utilities, which are up .39%.
On the downside -- Health care stocks closed down 1.93%, followed by telecom; down .76% and then gold; down .50%.
The TSX Venture Exchange closed down by 16.23 points to 1,934.08, while the Nasdaq Canada index is in the red as well; down by 5.28 points to 692.36.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock slid slowly back to a flat position after a day that saw a strong rally to start the day on improved manufacturing numbers, but momentum just couldn't be maintained as traders are clearly being cautious ahead of mid-term elections and a report on easing from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up by 6.13 points, or .06% to 11,124.62. The S&P 500 finished up by 1.12 points, or .09%, to 1,184.38. The NASDAQ closed in the red; down by 2.57 points, or .10%, to 2,504.84.
The US Dollar is up against the euro by .0049 and gaining ground against the yen; up .1400.
Oil futures for November delivery are up by $1.52 to $82.95.
The 10-year bond yield is up .0160 to 2.6280%.
IN DATA NEWS --
Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded more than forecast in October as measures of production and orders placed with factories rose to five-month highs. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index increased to 56.9 last month, the highest since May, from 54.4. Readings greater than 50 signal growth.
Data from the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending rose less than forecast in September as incomes dropped for the first time in more than a year, a sign Americans may keep rebuilding savings and paring debt as the economy is slow to recover. Purchases increased 0.2%, the smallest gain in the third quarter. Incomes fell 0.1%, the first drop since July 2009, and the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation stagnated, capping the smallest 12-month gain in nine years.
CLOSING NEWS --
Google being excluded? Say it ain't so -- Google has filed a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Interior Department issued a request for bids on an email contract, specifying that only Microsoft’s technology could be proposed. Long and short of the story: Google felt that they were going to be able to bid on the project, but even more importantly, is the presence that Google is starting to impose in the market for market based software tools. Shares of GOOG closed up .21% to $615.00 and shares of MSFT closed up 1.07% to $26.95.
Subpeonas Generally Doesn't Help Stock Prices -- First Horizon National Corp. reported today that they have been subpoenaed by the conservator for two GSE investors in six securitizations. Shares of fell 6.74 to $9.41.
A subpeona is one thing, but BK is another -- Ambac Financial Inc. reported missing an interest payment and mentioned that bankruptcy may be in the Company's future by the end of the year. Shares of ABK plummeted 50.15% to close at $.41.
AFTERNOON NEWS --
The dollar is putting together a strong day and outperforming many of its counterparts, including the euro and yen after the Institute for Supply Management’s index of U.S. manufacturing activity rose to 56.9 in October.
Standard & Poor's announced that it lowered its ratings outlook on Halliburton Co. to negative from stable. Shares of HAL are trading up .28% at $31.95.
Tech hangin’ tough -- Shares of Dell (DELL) are up .29% to $14.44 and Cisco (CSCO) shares are gaining 1.09% to $23.11 while Apple has seen its shares climb .88% to trade at $303.64. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) are clinging to 1.33% gains and trading at $27.02, but the leader of the pack is web security company, Sourcefire, which are up 8.65% to $25.63.
AT THE OPEN --
Houston-based Baker Hughes reported that earnings increased to $255 million, or $.59 a share, from $55 million, or $.18 per share for the same quarter last year. Quarterly revenue increased 83% to $4.08 billion, after Baker acquired BJ Services. The data from Baker Hughes topped estimates of $.47 a share on revenue of $3.7 billion. Shares of BHI are up 5.86% to $49.14.
Look out below -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not approve Biodel’s new injected insulin product Linjeta, citing insufficient clinical data. The USFDA is requesting Biodel run two new Phase III clinical trials for Linjeta, in addition to other information. Shares of BIOD are down 38.57% to $2.23.
Shares of Southwestern Energy Co. are helping push the S & P 500 north this morning as the Company is riding on positive earning data that was release on Friday showing that third-quarter earnings rose 36% to $160.7 million, or $.46 a share, from $118.3 million, or $.34 cents a share, in the same period in 2009. Revenue rose to $682.2 million, from $503 million. Southwestern beat the Wall Steet earnings target of $.45 per share, and the revenue target of $587 million. Shares of SWN are up 4.97% to $35.52.
