Canadian stocks approached lunch hour off yesterday’s pace, as rising yields on euro-zone sovereign bonds fanned concerns that the currency bloc's debt crisis would keep spreading, pushing the region into recession.
The S&P/TSX composite index deducted 101.55 points at noon ET to 12,072.51
The Canadian dollar fell 0.02 cents to 97.62 cents U.S.
Stocks to watch Thursday include SXC Health Solutions Corp., which said it will buy privately-held company HealthTrans LLC for $250 million in cash to expand its healthcare benefit management portfolio.
Miner Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. said on Wednesday that it expects to meet its 2011 forecasts for molybdenum production, but its output should fall in 2012 and costs are expected to rise.
Economically speaking, figures released this morning by Statistics Canada reported that foreign investors added $7.4 billion of Canadian securities to their holdings in September, led by acquisitions of federal Treasury bills. On the other side of the coin Canadian investment in foreign securities slowed to $718 million and remained focused on foreign stocks.
Elsewhere, the number of people receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits fell by 15,400, or 2.7%, to 549,300 in September, according to the nation’s number-crunchers, continuing a year-long downward trend.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange ducked back 10.62 points to 1,622.60, while the Nasdaq Canada index lost 3.56 points to 406.44.
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups had stepped back by lunch time. Materials sliced off 2.3%, gold 2.2%, and the metals and mining lost 1.4%.
Only health-care stocks held out against the negative tide, gaining 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks had recovered by midday Thursday, even as euro-zone jitters overshadowed another round of positive U.S. economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials eked out a gain of 8.86 points by noon time to 11,914.45
The S&P 500 skidded 13.45 points, however, to 1,223.46, while the Nasdaq Composite Index moved down 50.06 points to 2,589.55.
The U.S. government released better-than-expected data on unemployment and construction on Thursday morning.
Stocks took a nosedive in the final hour of trading Wednesday, after investors got spooked by a report that outlined U.S. banks' exposure to contagion from European sovereign debt. The Fitch report set off a dramatic shift, as stocks had earlier been buffered from larger fears about Europe by positive economic data out of the U.S.
Shares of Sears fell after the company posted a $421-million U.S. quarterly loss before the opening bell Thursday. The retailer reported same-store sales fell 0.7%, missing expectations.
J.M. Smucker posted a much bigger loss than expected Thursday morning, due to higher costs.
Bank stocks, which sank Wednesday following the release of the Fitch report, continued their declines Thursday. Shares of Citi and Morgan Stanley both fell in the early going.
Shares of semiconductor company Rambus lost more than half their value on Wednesday, after the company failed to convince a jury that its competitor, Micron Technology, had committed U.S. anti-trust violations. Micron's shares rebounded Thursday.
Overseas, Thursday brought more auctions of Spanish and French bonds. Investors are closely monitoring the debt sales for demand, as Italian bond yields topped 7% again early Thursday and Spanish bond yields hovered just below 7%.
The 7% mark -- which Italian bonds breached for the first time last week -- is a benchmark that makes traders nervous, because Greece, Portugal and Ireland passed it shortly before receiving bailouts.
Yields on sovereign debt continue to hit record highs in countries around the euro-zone, as uncertainty about the euro-zone's ability to solve its debt crisis and fears of a contagion build.
Economically speaking, initial U.S. jobless claims came in lower than expected at 388,000 for the week ending November 12. The latest week's numbers are still down from 390,000 from the week prior, the lowest since April.
Elsewhere on the ledger, the number of housing building permits jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 653,000 in October, up 10.9% from the revised rate of 589,000 in September, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday. That was much higher than expected, with economists surveyed by Briefing.com looking for a 603,000 annual rate.
Construction of new homes ticked slightly lower during the month. The Commerce Department also said housing starts edged down 0.3% to an annual rate of 628,000 units in October, down from a revised 630,000 in September.
Philadelphia Fed's Business Outlook Index is due later in the morning, with economists expecting the index to drop slightly for the month of November to 7.5, down from 8.7 the previous month.
The price on the 10-year Treasury sagged, driving the yield up a bit to 2.03% from Wednesday’s 2.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for October delivery drooped $2.21 to $100.38 U.S. a barrel
Gold futures for December delivery fell $27.30 to $1,747 an ounce.
