Equities in Canada’s largest centre slipped at the open on Thursday after three straight sessions of gains, weighed down by energy stocks as oil prices fell on a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases in China.
The TSX Composite Index stepped back 31.53 points Thursday from Wednesday’s all-time high to 17,801.32
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.04 cents to 75.45 cents U.S.
Manulife Financial Corp missed estimates as earnings from Canada fell 5.6%, while Sun Life Financial beat expectations despite only posting 2% increase in profit from its Asian business, its traditional growth driver.
Manulife shares slid 44 cents, or 1.7%, to $26.18.
Caltex Australia Ltd said Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc has raised its buyout offer to A$8.80 billion ($5.93 billion), in a final attempt to sway the oil refiner and convenience store firm after interest from Britain's EG Group.
Couche-Tard shares docked 31 cents to $43.95.
Canadian Tire Corp beat quarterly profit estimates on Thursday, buoyed by strength in the diversified retailer's credit card business and strong demand at its retail stores. Canadian Tire shares gained $2.44, or 1.7%, to $147.29.
CIBC raised the target price on Acadian Timber to $18.00 from $17.00. Acadian shares took on 15 cents to $16.89.
RBC raised the target price on Hydro One to $30.00 from $26.00. Hydro One shares improved 11 cents to $28.75.
RBC raised the rating on Western Forest Products to sector perform from underperform. Western Forest shares dropped a penny to $1.34.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 0.88 points to 570.85.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups fell back in the first hour, weighed most by communications, down 1%, while consumer staples and energy each slid 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, ahead 1.1%, while information technology clicked 1%, and gold bettered itself by 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks pulled back from record highs on Thursday as a jump in reported coronavirus cases fuels worries over the virus’ impact on economic activity.
The Dow Jones Industrials handed back 150.69 points to 29,400.73, falling from Wednesday’s all-time high
The S&P 500 slumped 11.41 points from Wednesday’s peak to 3,368.04
The NASDAQ stumbled 35.33 points to 9,690.63.
Cisco Systems was the worst-performing Dow stock, sliding 6.5%. Nike, Apple and Intel all fell at least 0.5%.
The major averages hit their session lows after the CDC confirmed the 15th U.S. coronavirus case.
China said it confirmed 15,152 new cases and 254 additional deaths. That brings the country’s total death toll to 1,367 as the number of people infected jumped to nearly 60,000, according to the Chinese government.
In corporate news, Cisco fell after the company reported another decline in overall revenue. In the fourth quarter, Cisco’s revenue dropped by 4% on a year-over-year basis. That decline overshadowed a better-than-expected profit.
PepsiCo, Alibaba and Applied Materials all reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations. Applied Materials shares gained 2.9%, but PepsiCo and Alibaba dropped 0.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares fell more than 2% after the electric car maker announced a $2 billion stock offering.
On the data front, weekly jobless claims rose marginally, but remained near multi-decade lows. The latest read on the U.S. Consumer Price Index — a widely followed measure of inflation — rose 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.61% from Wednesday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 43 cents to $51.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $8.10 to $1,579.70 U.S. an ounce.
