Toronto's main stock index pushed higher in volatile trading on Thursday afternoon, recouping some of the previous sessions' sharp losses as investors scooped up beaten-down bank shares and Potash Corp earnings wowed investors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 15.11 points to finish at 13,047.78
The Canadian dollar sidled back 0.20 cents to 105.11 cents U.S.
Heavily weighted financial shares were among the gainers following a steep selloff over recent weeks. Royal Bank of Canada advanced 1.4% to $52.05.
Potash gained 0.3% to $56.20, off its highs for the day, as the world's largest fertilizer maker reported a 75% increase in its quarterly profit on the back of surging grain prices that lifted demand for its crop nutrients.
Goldcorp Inc was down 3.2% to $46.71. The gold producer said on Wednesday its second-quarter operating profit more than doubled, but the company cut the midpoint of its expected 2011 gold production range by 6.5% as operational issues, project delays, and forest fires curtailed output in Mexico, Canada and the Dominican Republic.
Barrick Gold Corp was also down, falling 0.3% to $45.87, after the world's largest gold miner reported a 35% increase in quarterly profit but warned of sizable increases in capital expenditures.
Suncor Energy dropped 2.8% to $37.09 after the oil and gas producer posted a slim 4% rise in second-quarter profit and said it did not anticipate further asset sales in 2011.
Economically speaking, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees jumped between April and May by 0.5% to $875.64, according to figures released this morning by Statistics Canada. On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings were 3.3% higher compared with May 2010.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.83 points to 1,983.95, while the Nasdaq Canada index slid 3.02 points to 534.53
In Toronto, nine of the 14 subgroups were higher on the day. Consumer discretionaries were up 1.8%, while utilities gained 1.2% and telecoms prospered 0.6%.
The laggards were weighed by energy, down 0.6%, and gold and materials, off 0.3% each.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks lost momentum in the afternoon, with the Dow sustaining a fifth consecutive decline, as investors remain worried about the impending debt ceiling deadline.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 62.44 points to 12,240.10. Exxon Mobil was dragging on the blue-chip index, while tech giants Cisco and Microsoft posted the biggest gains.
The S&P 500 let go of 4.22 points to 1,300.67, despite a 15% jump in shares of LSI Corp., which delivered an upbeat outlook for the third quarter.
The Nasdaq Composite Index squeaked ahead 1.46 points to 2,766.25. Green Mountain was the best performer on the tech-heavy index. Shares of the coffee company rallied 16% on positive quarterly results and a good forecast for the year.
Earlier in the day, the Dow was up almost 0.7%, while the S&P 500 had climbed 0.9%. The Nasdaq had popped nearly 1.3%. Investors welcomed encouraging news from the job and housing markets, but are still looking for Congress to strike a deal on the debt ceiling.
The softness in the afternoon came as the House began to debate on the debt ceiling plan favored by Republicans. Even if the measure passes when the House votes later Thursday, it is expected to die in the Senate and, even so, President Obama has threatened to veto it.
Oil producer Exxon Mobil reported a profit of $10.7 billion U.S. in the second quarter -- driven by higher gas prices -- but fell short of earnings expectations. Shares dropped 2%.
Shares of Akamai Technologies tumbled 19%, after the company's second-quarter earnings missed Wall Street's expectations. The stock was the worst performer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Sprint's stock also dropped sharply Wednesday morning. Shares tumbled 18% after the wireless operator posted a deeper-than-expected loss for the second quarter.
Time Warner Cable reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.24 U.S. per share. The company attributed that to growth in high-speed data and voice revenues. Shares fell 4%.
Investors will get results from MetLife and Starbucks after Thursday's closing bell. Shares of both companies were higher.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department reported 398,000 Americans filed for initial unemployment benefits last week -- it's the first time claims have dropped below 400,000 in more than three months. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected 415,000 claims.
The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 2.4% in June. Sales were forecast to have slipped 3% last month, after jumping 8.2% in May.
Investors are also looking ahead to Friday's monthly GDP report. The government will report how much the economy expanded in the second quarter -- but don't expect much good news.
A survey of economists forecasts the economy grew only at a 1.8% annual rate in the second quarter, which would be a slight slowdown from the first quarter, when it grew an already lethargic 1.9%.
Bond prices improved Thursday, lowering the yield on benchmark 10-year notes to 2.95% from Wednesday’s 2.98%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for August delivery dropped 30 cents to $97.13 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery slipped $1.70 to settle at $1,613.40 U.S. an ounce.
