The Toronto stock market was slightly lower Thursday as commodity prices advanced and investors took some gains off the table after a strong runup in the first quarter of 2011.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 11.84 points by the end of the day to 13,821.80
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.27 cents to 104.16 cents U.S.
Canadian Natural Resources declined 99 cents to $42.55 and Talisman Energy slipped 18 cents to $22.18.
Copper prices lost ground for a fourth session because of demand concerns as the May contract on the Nymex slipped one cent to $4.28 U.S. a pound. The base metals sector lost strength as Teck Resources stepped back 76 cents to $50.14 and HudBay Minerals lost 50 cents to $15.30.
Techs were also weak as Research In Motion Ltd. lost $1.04 or 2% to $51.75 ahead of the launch of its new PlayBook tablet, which hits Canadian stores on Tuesday.
Critical reception has been mixed for the PlayBook, with some reviews finding good things to say about its hardware, its Flash-able web browser and slick interface, but still the overall consensus appeared to be largely negative and focused on features that were missing from the device.
The gold sector was the leading advancer, as Barrick Gold Corp. rose $1.11 to $51.26 while Goldcorp Inc. improved by $1.21 to $51.86.
The Toronto market has racked up triple-digit losses in two out of three sessions this week as investors take profits from a strong series of gains amid worries that high prices for commodities are fuelling inflation.
In earnings news, Corus Entertainment Inc., which owns specialty television and radio operations across Canada, said that quarterly profits rose to $31.6 million or 38 cents per share. That compares with $14.6 million or 18 cents per share a year ago. Overall revenues increased to $191.1 million from $177.5 million and Corus shares faded five cents to $21.00.
Astral Media Inc. said quarterly net income rose three per cent to $34.8 million. Revenue increased seven per cent to $232.7 million. Shares in the Montreal-based operator of pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties were down 28 cents at $36.92
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada came out with figures this morning revealing that manufacturing sales declined 1.5% in February to $47.1 billion. The nation’s number crunchers also noted new motor vehicle sales slipped 0.6% to 130,843, mostly due to weaker truck sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 0.64 points to 2,301.04 while the Nasdaq Canada index removed 8.56 points to 749.44
In Toronto, nine of the 14 subgroups were lower on the day. Metals and mining was off 1.3%, energy turned south 0.7%, and global base metals turned 0.6% lower.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 1.9%, materials, ahead 0.6%, and health-care, up 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks recovered the bulk of Thursday's earlier losses as commodities and energy stocks began to climb higher, attempting to overpower weakness in the banking and technology sectors.
The Dow Jones industrial average regained 14.16 points to close at 12,285.20. The Dow was down as much as 107 points earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 moved higher 0.11 points to 1,314.52, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1.30 points to 2,760.22.
By midday Thursday, shares of Goldman Sachs fell 3%, Bank of America lost 1%, and JPMorgan Chase shares were down 3%.
Technology shares also dropped after industry tracking firms Gartner and IDC both said PC sales unexpectedly fell in the first quarter. Shares of Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Dell were all down between 1% and 3% each.
Offsetting the losses in tech and banking, energy stocks such as Chevron and Marathon Oil were higher as oil rebounded back over $108 U.S. a barrel.
Google reports its quarterly results after the close. Analysts expect the Internet search company's first-quarter profit will jump to $8.10 U.S. a share, compared to $6.76 U.S. a share last year.
Google's stock was near its September 2007 levels, falling 9% since Eric Schmidt announced in January that he'd be stepping down as CEO.
Shares of Arcos Dorados jumped 25%, following the South American company's initial public offering. Arcos Dorados is the largest franchisee of McDonald's restaurants worldwide.
Car sharing company Zipcar soared more than 65% on its first day of trading after its IPO.
Financials were the biggest drag on stocks, after the Senate issued a report late Wednesday that slammed Goldman Sachs as a "case study" of the recklessness and greed that set off the 2008 financial crisis.
Banks were also down following an announcement from the Federal Reserve that it plans to slap fines on some of the largest U.S. banks for "unsafe and unsound practices" in how they handled foreclosures.
Stocks are coming off of slight gains Wednesday, thanks to a late-afternoon turnaround following President Obama's speech unveiling his plan to cut the U.S. budget deficit by $4 trillion U.S. over 12 years.
Obama laid down a series of spending and deficit targets, adding that he wants $3 U.S. in spending cuts for every dollar in additional tax revenue.
On the economic front, new applications by jobless workers seeking unemployment benefits jumped above 400,000 last week for the first time in a month, putting claims at their highest level since mid-February, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Initial claims for state benefits climbed by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 412,000 in the week ended April 9, while claims for the prior week were revised up by 3,000 to 385,000.
Economists had expected new applications for jobless benefits to drop to 380,000.
The government’s producer-price index climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in March, following a 1.6% gain in February and a 0.8% increase in January.
The core rate, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.3% in March. Higher prices for light trucks accounted for a large chunk of the increase.
Economists had predicted a 0.8% increase in overall producer prices and a 0.2% increase in the core rate.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury surrendered some ground, lifting yields to 3.49% from Wednesday’s 3.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gathered $1.35 to $108.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $18.80 at $1,473.90 U.S. an ounce.
