Blue chips in Toronto traded lower Thursday -- as investors digested a flood of negative corporate announcements from BCE, Gildan Activewear, Petro-Canada and EnCana Corp.
The S&P/TSX composite index was off 242.10 points to 8,391.90.
The BCE Inc. buyer group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan stated early today that it has ''terminated the agreement in accordance with its terms,'' after a valuation by KPMG accountants found BCE would fail to meet a solvency test after taking on the massive debt involved in the $52-billion leveraged buyout.
Gildan, the top decliner, fell 34 percent to $11.73 after the T-shirt maker posted sharply lower quarterly profit and provided a disappointing 2009 outlook.
Both Petro-Canada and EnCana Corp. said they are reducing 2009 capital spending -- Petro-Canada by about one-third to $4 billion. EnCana slashed its cash-flow outlook and reduced its capital budget to US$6.1 billion, down from $7 billion this year.
In other Canadian corporate news -- Iamgold Corp. has struck a friendly deal to acquire Orezone Resources Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at US$139 million.
Research In Motion Ltd. said that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Chalk Media Corp. for about $23.13 million or $0.142 per share in cash.
On the data front -- first-time filings for state unemployment benefits jumped by 58,000 to a total of 573,000. The number of people collecting unemployment benefits rose by 338,000 to 4.43 million, also the highest since late 1982, the Labor Department said. The 338,000 increase in the week ending Nov. 29 was the most since 1974.
In Canada -- Stats Canada reported that the New Housing Price Index increased, year-over-year, by 1.5 percent in October, a slower pace than the 2.1 percent advance recorded in September and the smallest annual increase since October 1999.
Also -- the nation's international merchandise trade surplus narrowed to $3.78 billion in October vs $4.25 billion in September.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, was trading 1.39 cents higher at 80.95 cents US.
BAYSTREET
Only one of the TSX sub-groups traded higher today -- mining stocks were up 1.66 percent.
COMEX gold for February delivery jumped $17.80 to settle at $826.60 US an ounce.
On the downside -- real-estate stocks fell 5.26 percent; consumer discretionary issues shed 4.97 percent and tech stocks dipped 3.91 percent.
Meanwhile, the TSX Venture Exchange rose 7.90 points to 713.44 and the NASDAQ Canada was off 7.62 points at 391.24.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks returned to negative territory in afternoon trade Thursday, amid uncertainty about a bailout of the ailing auto sector and renewed concerns about the health of financial firms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 196.33 points, or 2.2 percent, to 8565.09. The S&P 500 slipped 25.65 points, or 2.9 percent, to 873.59, and the Nasdaq fell 57.60 points, or 3.7 percent, to 1507.88.
There was still no word of consensus in Washington on the U.S. automakers' bailout by Thursday afternoon. Late Wednesday the House of Representatives passed a rescue bill for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. But the plan, under which the government would draw about $14 billion from an existing loan program meant to help the automakers build fuel-efficient vehicles, may face challenges from skeptical Republicans when it comes to the floor of the Senate.
In corporate news -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported on Thursday that fiscal first-quarter net income was about flat, reflecting bargain-hunting shoppers looking for deals in a downbeat economy. Same store sales edged up 1 percent and total sales rose 3.6 percent.
Also Boeing said Thursday that due to the recent Machinists' strike and the required replacement of certain fasteners, it's pushing back the timeline for the first 787 Dreamliner commercial jet. This, the fourth major delay on the 787, will push the first test flight to the second quarter of 2009 and the first delivery to the first quarter of 2010.
Yahoo has overhauled a severance program that could have saddled potential buyers with a huge bill after a takeover. The move could make it easier to negotiate a sale of the company.
After rising in price earlier in the day, longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were recently positive. The 10-year was adding 17.5/32 to yield 2.6 percent, and the 30-year tacked on 1.5/32, yielding 3.1 percent. The American dollar was weaker against the euro, pound and yen.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose $4.46 to settle at $47.98 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
