The Toronto stock market endured a negative open Thursday as worries about Europe’s banks discouraged buying and pushed commodities lower.
The S&P/TSX Composite doffed 80.64 points to open at 12,145.83.
In corporate news, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. will be in focus after the Vancouver miner said it is selling its mines in Congo and settling legal claims for $1.25 billion U.S.
The company said Thursday it had struck a deal with Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC to dispose of its residual claims and assets in the Kolwezi tailings project, and the Frontier and Lonshi mines and related exploration interests.
Australia-listed PanTerra Gold Ltd. has made an all-stock takeover offer for Vancouver-based Novus Gold Corp., which has two highly prospective copper and gold concessions in the Dominican Republic.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.19 cents to 98.77 cents U.S.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada came out with two reports Thursday morning whose findings were intertwined. Between October and November, the Industrial Product Price Index increased 0.2%, and the Raw Materials Price Index climbed 3.8%, both led by higher petroleum prices.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 5.71 points to 1,510.18, while the Nasdaq Canada index subtracted 2.61 points to 378.40.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down to begin the day. Global base metals and energy each lost 1.2%, while financials were 0.9% weaker.
The two gainers were health-care and the metals and mining group, each up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks fell at Thursday's open, as fears about Europe's debt crisis trumped two upbeat reports on the U.S. job market.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 111.82 points to start out at 12,306.60
The S&P 500 jettisoned 11.55 points to 1,265.75, while the Nasdaq Composite gave back 11.87 points to 2,636.49.
U.S. stocks are coming off a mixed close Wednesday. Strong auto sales and a rise in November factory orders supported stocks during the day, but investors were also cautious given Europe's debt crisis.
Banks, one of the hardest hit sectors in 2011, were under pressure, with shares of Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America all down between 1% and 3% in early trading.
Shares of Barnes & Noble plunged after the bookseller said it may spin off its popular Nook e-reader business into a separate business line.
Agricultural producer Monsanto released quarterly results before the opening bell on Thursday. Profits and sales topped forecasts, sending shares up in early trading.
Investors will also be watching retailers, which report same-store sales -- a key metric of retailers' health -- Thursday.
Target reported sales of 1.6% for the month of December, falling far short of forecasts. As a result, the retailer also cut its fourth-quarter earnings forecast.
After slumping 3% the day before, Yahoo shares fell further Thursday following news that the company had named PayPal president Scott Thompson as its new CEO.
Eastman Kodak shares dropped following a report that the company was preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing.
Early Thursday, France's first bond auction of the year took centre stage. Roughly €8 billion of 10- to 30-year bonds were sold, with the 10-year drawing an average yield of 3.29% -- an improvement over the 3.18% yield at its last auction in December.
France's 10-year yield is hovering around 3%, while Italy's continues to flirt with 7% and the yield on Spain's 10-year bond is roughly 5.6%.
The threat of a downgrade to France's pristine AAA credit rating has worried investors after Fitch put the country on negative watch last month and Standard & Poor's said it was reviewing 15 members of the euro-zone for a possible downgrade.
On the economic front, before the market opened, payroll processor ADP reported that private-sector employers added 325,000 jobs in December. That was much stronger than the 180,000 economists had expected.
The U.S. Labor Department said initial unemployment claims for the week ended Dec. 31 came in at 372,000 -- slightly lower than expectations of 375,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com -- and down from a revised 387,000 the prior week.
Moreover, the Institute for Supply Management will also release the December installment of its services index, which tracks non-manufacturing orders, employment and inventories. The index is expected to rise to 53, from 52 in the month prior.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained a bit of strength, driving the yields down to 1.97% from 1.99% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery slid 72 cents to $102.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $7.70 to $1,605 U.S. an ounce.
