The Toronto stock market finished slightly lower Thursday as investors bought stocks beaten down in the previous session after a fresh round of worry about the U.S. economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dipsy-doodled much of the afternoon, but slid 8.38 points to end the day at 13,519.50, on top of yesterday’s 275-point collapse.
The Canadian dollar gained back 0.14 cents to 102.51 cents U.S.
Financials lost ground Wednesday after an analyst at RBC Capital Markets downgraded CIBC and National Bank to sector perform from outperform.
Today, however Royal Bank was ahead 25 cents to $55.13, CIBC regained 61 cents to $78.15 while National Bank gained 12 cents to $79.15.
In the energy sector, Suncor Energy dipped eight cents to $39.13 and Cenovus Energy gave back eight cents to $34.13.
Base metal prices further weakened with the July copper contract down one cent to $4.09 U.S. a pound. A sharp drop in China’s main purchasing managers index helped send copper down seven cents Wednesday. China is the world’s biggest consumer of the metal.
On Thursday, the sector rose with Inmet Mining ahead $2.44 to $71.18 and Sherritt International advanced five cents to $7.20.
Progress Energy Resources Corp. shares jumped 59 cents to $14.57 after the company struck a binding deal worth nearly $1.1 billion to form a strategic partnership with the Malaysian national oil company to develop the Canadian company’s B.C. natural gas assets.
The gold sector settled after enjoying gains much of the day, with Barrick Gold Corp. off 99 cents to $45.06.
In earnings news, Descartes Systems Group handed in first quarter earnings of $2.2 million or three cents a diluted share, up from $200,000 or less than one cent a share a year ago. Revenue at the Waterloo, Ont.-based company ran up 27% to $27.1 million U.S. Its shares gained 15 cents to $6.75.
Magellan Aerospace Corp. earned $7.2 million or 14 cents per share in the first quarter with $170.5 million of revenue. Its shares lost three cents to $4.87.
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. shares gained 29 cents to $7.10 even as the company booked a $15.7 million loss in its fourth quarter of 2011, saying it suffered from poor performance at its Photowatt solar energy division. The results at the southwestern Ontario-based maker of machinery and equipment for industrial and automotive markets compared to a profit of $2.1 million a year earlier.
Sprott Inc., a Toronto-based investment company, reported that first-quarter net income rose 64% to $10.6 million, or seven cents per share, from $6.4 million or four cents per share a year ago. Revenue grew to $39.5 million from $25.7 million, but its shares fell two cents to $8.64.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 9.23 points to 2,058.19 while the Nasdaq Canada index fell 1.90 points to 644.91
In Toronto, all but four of the 14 subgroups were higher. Health-care picked up 0.8%, while global base metals moved ahead 0.5%, and industrials improved 0.4%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, off 1%, while materials suffered 0.8% and utilities tailed off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were mixed in late Thursday trading, as fears about the economy and concerns about consumer spending weighed on investors' minds. Stocks did manage to climb well off their session lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.59 points to end the session at 12,248.50, with retailers Wal-Mart and Home Depot among the biggest drags on the blue-chip index. At one point in the session, the Dow stumbled nearly 100 points
The S&P 500 lost 1.61 points to 1,312.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.12 points, however, to 2,773.31.
Retail stocks pressured the broader market, as major retail chains reported mostly disappointing same-store sales. Limited Brands JC Penney and Gap were among the worst performers on the S&P 500.
Shares of the for-profit education stocks jumped, after the Department of Education issued its final rules that aim to halt federal aid to schools whose graduates cannot earn enough to repay their loans.
Shares of Corinthian Colleges spiked 30%, while shares of Apollo Group rose 10% on the news. Bridgepoint Education's stock added 3%.
Online coupon company Groupon filed for a $750-million U.S. initial public offering on Thursday. Groupon plans to trade under the symbol "GRPN."
Financial stocks Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were modestly lower on Thursday, after Moody's put the three big banks on review for a possible downgrade.
Also in the financial sector, Goldman Sachs shares slid 1% on reports that the Manhattan Attorney General's office is investigating the bank.
Economically speaking, weekly jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 422,000 in the latest week. While investors welcomed the slight dip in unemployment claims, the figure was not as low as economists were hoping for -- and it remained above the key level of 400,000 for the eighth straight week.
One expert added that the recent week's figure is even more important in light of Wednesday's "shockingly weak" private sector jobs report, which comes ahead of the government's key monthly jobs report due Friday.
One survey of 26 economists expect a total gain of 170,000 jobs, and a private sector gain of 190,000; with the unemployment rate edging down to 8.9%.
Elsewhere, the U.S. Labor Department said productivity rose 1.8% during the first quarter, slightly above economists' expectations
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising the yield to 3.03% from Wednesday’s 2.97%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil for July delivery recaptured 30 cents to $100.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for July delivery dropped $10.50 to $1,535.50 U.S. an ounce.
