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TSX off day-long highs
Apr. 20, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
The Toronto stock market gained limited ground amid stronger prices for some commodities, and the strong performance of the dollar. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day ahead 10.56 points to 12,113.53, well off its highs for the day. The Toronto energy sector was the biggest gainer in mid-afternoon trading, Encana Corp. stock gained 34 cents $31.77. The base metals sector also gained, as the May copper contract on the Nymex gained 1.65 cents to $3.51 per pound U.S. Shares in Teck Resources Ltd. which was to report earnings later Tuesday, slid 71 cents to $41.71. The gold sector fell as Barrick Gold Corp. lost 73 cents to $39.03. Financial stocks also posted a small loss, falling 0.16 per cent. Shares in TD slipped 69 cents to $76.28 after TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., a U.S.-based discount brokerage that's 40% owned by TD Bank, cut its earnings outlook for the year because of low interest rates and less active trading. In Canadian corporate news, Provident Energy Trust and Midnight Oil Exploration Ltd. said they plan to merge their producing assets into a new growth-oriented oil and gas company, while Provident's infrastructure assets will continue to operate separately. Shares in Midnight Oil added eight cents or 7.6% to $1.13 while Provident added nine cents to $7.98. Megascreen theatre company Imax Corp. plans to install five of its giant 3-D equipped screens in Japan over the next two years. Imax stock gained 97 cents or 5.5% to $18.69. Shares in Northern Energy and Mining Inc. jumped 10 cents or more than 14.7% to 78 cents after the part-owner of a British Columbia coal project said the properties will be sold. And one of Canada's largest grain handlers, Viterra Inc. is investing up to $25 million U.S. in a joint venture to build a canola crushing facility in China. Viterra stock gained 25 cents or 2.9% to $8.97. The loonie was on track to post its biggest single-day gain in months on Tuesday following a bullish economic forecast from Canada's central bank. The Canadian dollar climbed back beyond parity with its American cousin, adding 1.52 cents to $1.0009 U.S. Today, the Bank of Canada announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at a record low of 0.25%. The bank rate was left unchanged at 0.5% and the deposit rate at 0.25%. The bank now projects that the economy will grow by 3.7% in 2010 before slowing to 3.1% in 2011 and 1.9% in 2012. ON BAYSTREET Of the 14 TSX subgroups, eight were higher at the end of trading. Energy gained 1.2%, followed by industrials, ahead 0.8% and consumer staples, gaining 0.7%. Gold weighed most heavily on the half-dozen losing groups, shedding 1.6%, while global base metals fell 1.4% and materials sagged 0.5%. The TSX Venture Exchange gave back 1.76 points to 1,652.20, while the Nasdaq Canada index advanced 13.69 points to 797.86. ON WALLSTREET In New York, a surge in energy prices and better-than-expected profit reports from Goldman Sachs and others helped stocks Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average strengthened 25.01 points Tuesday to 11,117.06. The S&P 500 index gained 9.65 points to 1,207.17. The Nasdaq composite index moved up 20.20 points to 2,500.31. Quarterly earnings from Yahoo and Apple were due after the close. Stocks seesawed Tuesday morning as investors mulled Goldman Sachs' improved earnings and analysts grilled the firm over SEC charges that it defrauded investors in a deal involving the marketing of subprime mortgages. But stocks turned higher as investors focused on better-than-expected reports from Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and others, as well as a rally in energy, mining and metal prices and stocks. Investors took a "sell-the-news' approach to IBM's improved results released late Monday, with weakness in that stock limiting the Dow's gains. IBM is the Dow's most heavily weighted component. Stocks ended mostly higher Monday as worries about Goldman Sachs eased and Citigroup's strong earnings soothed investors. Concerns about the potential fallout from Goldman Sachs dragged on stocks at the end of last week. But investors took comfort Monday from reports that said that regulators decided to pursue charges against the firm by just a narrow majority. Goldman Sachs reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit of $3.5 billion U.S. on strength in its investment banking business and improved trading volume. But Goldman Sachs stock lost 1% as investors also listened to the testimony from its executives, who denied that the company misled investors. IBM posted higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates late Monday. The company also boosted its full-year 2010 earnings forecast. But shares fell 1.7% Tuesday as investors worried about a surprise decline in the backlog, one expert said. Johnson & Johnson reported higher quarterly earnings that beat estimates on higher revenue that met estimates as strong sales of medical devices overshadowed weaker sales of prescription drugs and consumer products. The Dow component also trimmed its full-year 2010 earnings forecast due to currency rate fluctuations and the impact of the U.S. health-care bill. Shares were little changed. Tech bellwethers Apple and Yahoo report results after the close of trading Tuesday. S&P 500 earnings are currently on track to have risen 45% versus a year ago, according to the latest from Thomson Reuters. Revenues are on track to have risen 11%. Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.82% from 3.81% late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil gained $1.54 to $82.99 U.S. Gold prices gained three dollars to $1,139 U.S. an ounce.