Business
Financials weigh on TSX
Financials weigh on TSX
About this update from Gildan Activewear Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nFinancials weigh on TSX\n\nTraders still skittish on bailout\n Feb. 10, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) -- 12:26 pm EST\nMarkets in Toronto staged a slight comeback, after triple-digit losses in the morning. The S&P TSX Composite Index was still 29.25 points below Wednesday's close by midday Thursday to 8,708.64, misfortunes sustained by the financial and energy sectors the chief culprits. The financial sector was down, with Royal Bank down 56 cents to $29.79.Shares in Sunlife Financial Inc. declined 91 cents to $22.09 after it said quarterly earnings slid to $129 million or 23 cents per share, down from year-earlier profits of $555 million or 97 cents per share. Quarterly revenue came in at $4.7 billion, down from $5.4 billion reported during the same period in 2007.Full-year earnings shrank to $785 million or $1.37 per share from 2007 profits of $2.2 billion or $3.85 per share.Manulife Financial Corp. lost $1.87 billion in the fourth quarter - even worse than the $1.5-billion loss estimated in early December. The big life insurer said Thursday its full-year earnings dropped to $517 million, down 88% from $4.3 billion in 2007 and its shares moved 58 cents lower to $18.78.Canaccord Capital Inc. shares fell 20 cents to $4.10 as the company turned in a $62.4-million net loss in its fiscal third quarter, including a writedown of its U.S. capital markets business and costs related to a staff reduction last year. Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31, was $87.2 million, down 52.4% from the same quarter a year ago.The TSX energy sector lost as shares in Nexen Inc. were down 79 cents to $16.65 after the company recorded a quarterly loss of $181 million, reversing year-earlier profits of $194 million.Nexen said quarterly results were hurt by approximately $318 million in impairment charges related to its properties in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.EnCana Corp. reported that fourth-quarter earnings slipped to US$1.07 billion from $1.08 billion recorded a year ago. Earnings per share remained flat at $1.43.Quarterly cash flow fell to $1.3 billion from year-earlier levels of $1.9 billion and its shares declined 42 cents to $52.70.The telecom sector was a bright spot, with Rogers Communications ahead 91 cents to $34.76.The base metals sector pulled ahead with Teck Cominco Ltd. up 20 cents to $5.15.Gildan Activewear Inc. shares plunged...