The Toronto stock market was lower Thursday as energy and mining stocks failed to respond to higher oil and metal prices while traders dealt with more uncertainty after another earthquake struck Japan.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended Thursday’s session down 94.88 points to 14,107.77, after Japan’s northeastern coast was hit with a strong aftershock that measured 7.4 on the Richter scale. But the index moved off session lows after a tsunami warning for a coastal area already ravaged by last month’s tsunami was cancelled.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.15 of a cent to 104.24 cents U.S., as investors also took in an interest rate hike by the European Central Bank.
With oil prices up almost 30% since mid-February, as traders mull the impact of Libya’s civil conflict, a weakening U.S. dollar and China’s fourth interest rate hike since October, energy stocks were backing off as analysts expect crude prices to back off somewhat.
Canadian Natural Resources declined 85 cents to $46.40 while Suncor Energy regained 53 cents to $43.29.
The financials sector was down with National Bank down 95 cents to $76.59 and Scotiabank declined 37 cents to $58.45.
The base metals sector was off even as the May copper contract gained four cents to $4.41 U.S. a pound after jumping 10 cents on Wednesday.
Teck Resources lost $1.13 to $55.06 while First Quantum fell $6.92 to $135.09
The gold sector lost early traction as bullion gave up early gains. Barrick Gold Corp. was down 51 cents to $51.50.
The ECB said it was raising its key rate a quarter point to 1.25% to fight inflation despite the debt problems afflicting Portugal, Greece and Ireland.
Portugal is asking for a bailout so it can pay its debts, and Greece and Ireland have already been bailed out.
The Bank of England said Thursday it was keeping its key rate unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada makes its next scheduled announcement on interest rates on Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged until later in the year.
In other corporate news, discounted goods retailer Dollarama Inc. reported that fourth-quarter profits grew to $42 million from $34 million a year ago. Sales rose 12.3 per cent to $408.7 million. Its shares slipped 63 cents to $30.12.
Ivernia Inc. shares fell five cents to 23 cents after it said it will lay off most of the employees at its flagship lead mine. The shutdown follows the discovery of lead-contaminated mud stuck to the outside of a shipping container from the Magellan mine, which raised environmental concerns.
Canadian software firm MKS Inc. has received a $292.5-million cash offer from Boston-area company PTC to buy its assets. MKS says its board is supporting the offer of $26.20 per share from, which was 40% above the pre-announcement market price. MKS shares were up $7.06 or 37.3% at $26.01.
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada released figures this morning showing that municipalities issued building permits worth $5.8 billion in February, up 9.9% from January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 12.11 points to 2,375.54, while the Nasdaq Canada index faded 4.31 points to 763.27
In Toronto, all 14 subgroups were off on the day. Metals and mining stocks tumbled 1.8%, while information technology and utilities lost 1.3% each.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks declined in choppy trading Thursday after Japan was hit with another major earthquake and the price of oil rose above $110 U.S. a barrel.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.26 points to 12,409.50
The S & P 500 slumped 2.30 points to 1,333.51. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index subtracted 3.68 points, to 2,796.98
Investors were largely taking a cautious approach ahead of earnings season, which has its unofficial kick off Monday, when Dow component Alcoa reports.
With the S&P 500 continuing to nudge up against the key 1,340 level, one market analyst said investors are feeling a stronger pull toward selling and are just waiting for a reason to follow through.
The 1,340 level on the S&P has been a resistance point for stocks since mid-February, when the S&P 500 hit its high for the year.
Retailers were among the biggest movers as dozens of companies reported March same-store sales.
JC Penney and Nordstrom shares were among the top performers on the S&P 500, up more than 3% and 5% respectively on better-than-expected sales reports. Gap shares fell 2% after the retailer reported a 10% decline in sales.
Pier 1 Imports reported earnings of 48 cents per share, beating analyst estimates by a penny. Shares rose 9%.
Bed Bath & Beyond said it earned $1.12 U.S. per share in its fiscal fourth quarter, far outdoing the 97-cent U.S. per share profit analysts had predicted. Shares rose 11%.
On the economic front, the U.S. Labor Department reported the number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 to 382,000 in the latest week. The reading was better than expected.
Investors are also mulling Thursday's decision by the European Central Bank to raise its key lending rate to 1.25%.
Like the Federal Reserve, the ECB and Bank of England have both kept interest rates at historic lows for the past three years as a way to spur economic activity following the financial crisis and subsequent recession.
But rising energy and food prices have raised fears that inflation could be become unwieldy, at a time when economic growth is still sluggish.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was static, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 3.55%.
Oil for February delivery was up $1.42 to $110.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery rose 80 cents to $1,459.30 U.S. an ounce, a day after hitting a new intraday record of $1,463.70 U.S. an ounce.
