The Toronto stock market moved lower following four upbeat sessions amid a strong earnings report from TD Bank and indications the U.S. manufacturing sector is holding up better than thought.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sagged 67.96 points to close at 12,700.70
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.28 of a cent to 102.51 cents U.S.
TD’s profits rose to $1.45 billion in the third quarter, or $1.58 per share, compared with $1.18 billion or $1.29 a share a year ago. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $1.72 or 10 cents above analyst expectations. Revenues increased to $5.35 billion from $4.74 billion.
The bank also said it was raising its dividend for a second time this year, up two cents to 68 cents and its shares gained $1.01 to $78.48.
The financial sector was negative despite the strong TD report as Royal Bank shed $1.02 to $49.10 while Bank of Montreal lost 67 cents to $60.73.
The base metals sector lost ground as December copper backed off four cents to $4.16 U.S. a pound. HudBay Minerals declined 44 cents to $12.43 while Teck Resources lost 56 cents to $42.94
The energy sector slipped while Canadian Natural Resources lost 70 cents to $36.30 and Cenovus Energy dipped 41 cents to $34.99.
The gold sector was up as Goldcorp Inc. gained $1.15 to $52.15 while Barrick Gold Corp. rose 60 cents to $50.45.
In other corporate news, Shaw Communications Inc. has abandoned plans to launch a wireless phone service.
The Calgary-based telecommunications company said Thursday that the competition is too fierce in the wireless industry and that entering the market wouldn’t be beneficial to its shareholders.
Instead, it will develop a broader Wi-Fi network. Its shares declined 85 cents to $21.55.
Zarlink Semiconductor Inc. shares gained 10 cents to $3.69 as it urged stakeholders to reject what it called an "opportunistic," $549-million takeover bid for the company by a subsidiary of U.S. chipmaker Microsemi Corp.
In its unsolicited bid, first announced in July, Microsemi offered to acquire all outstanding common shares of Zarlink for $3.35 per share.
Canadian uranium giant Cameco has a preliminary deal to increase annual output from the Inkai mine and processing plant in central Kazakhstan by about 1.3 million pounds, or about 33%. Cameco shares added a penny to $22.74.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in a proposed class-action lawsuit against Sino-Forest Corp. have filed a statement of claim against the Chinese timber operator, seeking more than $7.37 billion in damages. The claim in Ontario superior court alleges that executives conspired to inflate share prices and accusing the troubled forestry company of making misrepresentations about its operations.
Mosaid Technologies Inc. announced it will manage patents of cellphone maker Nokia through the acquisition of Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. in a deal funded through future royalties. Core would operate as wholly owned subsidiary of Mosaid. Mosaid shares climbed 75 cents to $41.20.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange peeked up 1.60 points to 1,812.47, while the Nasdaq Canada index retreated 9.04 points to 536.15
In Toronto, all but two of the 14 subgroups were negative at day’s end. Information technology sank 2.3%, while health-care was 2% sicker, and global base metals listed lower by 1.6%
The two gainers were gold, up 0.6%, and materials, ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks turned solidly lower in afternoon trading Thursday, as weakness in financial shares offset a stronger-than-expected manufacturing report that initially eased some investor jitters.
The Dow Jones Industrials ended the day off 119.96 points, or 1%, to 11,493.60.
The S&P 500 settled 14.47 points to 1,204.42, while the Nasdaq tumbled 33.42 to 2,546.04
Among the biggest drags on the Dow and the S&P were the big investment banks, notably Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
The selloff came after the Federal Reserve sanctioned Goldman for its mortgage practices, with monetary damages to be assessed later. Goldman shares fell 3%.
Stocks had been positive most of the day after a somewhat better report on manufacturing activity from the ISM.
Retailers were among Thursday's top performers, including shares of Macy's and Costco, after both companies reported better-than-expected same-store sales for August.
Bank of New York Mellon ousted CEO Robert Kelly late Wednesday, citing "differences" in how the company was managed. The bank's president, Gerald Hassell, has taken on the chief executive and chairman roles. The bank's stock was up 2%
Major automakers Ford, Toyota, GM reported sales figures for August. GM and Ford sales came in a bit short of forecasts, but Chrysler sales beat expectations. Ford and GM shares were down slightly on the news.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 409,000 last week. Investors were looking for unemployment claims to fall to 407,000.
Productivity of U.S. workers slipped 0.7% during the second quarter. Labor costs rose by 3.3%.
Investors are gearing up for Friday's monthly jobs report. A survey of economists forecast the U.S. economy added 80,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained at 9.1% in August.
Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management's report showed manufacturing activity came in at a reading of 50.6 for August. That figure was considerably better than the 47 economists had expected, and much better than the "whisper numbers" of 43-45 that some traders had mentioned before the report. But the number is backwards looking so traders take it with a grain of salt.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained ground, lowering the yield to 2.15% from Wednesday’s 2.22%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery hiked nine cents to $88.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $3 to $1,831.40 U.S. an ounce.
