TSX flat Friday

Mar. 26, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --

The Toronto stock market was lower Friday afternoon, losing earlier gains that were collected in the wake of an agreement on a framework to help Greece deal with its debt crisis. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was fairly flat on the day, after floundering much of the afternoon, closing at 11,957.37, an improvement on the week, however, of 9.39 points. There didn't seem to be any one specific reason for the pullback. However, analysts have recently said that the market could be ripe for some kind of a retracement following the huge gains netted since hitting multi-year lows a year ago. They have also pointed out that the TSX seemed to be fairly valued, raising questions about what it would take to send the market even higher. Blue chips led TSX decliners with the telecom sector down. Rogers Communications lost 54 cents to $34.39. The financials sector fell as Royal Bank gave back 78 cents to $59.60 but insurers fared better with Manulife Financial up 11 cents to $20.24. Research In Motion Ltd. lent strength to the TSX as the market heavyweight moved ahead $1.85 to $76.96 after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to a "Buy" ahead of the BlackBerry maker's earnings next week. Base metals were up as the May copper contract in New York added two cents to $3.40 U.S. a pound. Equinox Minerals ended the day unchanged at at $3.59 while Sherritt International declined 27 cents to $8.20. The TSX global gold index was higher with Barrick Gold Corp. edging up 59 cents to $38.24 and Goldcorp Inc. improving 49 cents to $37.99. The TSX energy sector moved down as Suncor Energy was down eight cents to $30.80 while Canadian Oil Sands Trust lost 20 cents to $28.54. The Canadian dollar slipped 0.18 cents to 97.42 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine had dipped lower by the end of the session. Health-care stocks had taken a 1.9% dive, while telecoms were 1.1% down, while utilities fell short by 0.9%. The five gainers were led upward by gold, which gained 2.3%, global base metals, which prospered 1.5%, and materials, 1.3% to the good. The TSX Venture Exchange prospered 9.22 points to 1,559.78, but still finished down on the week by 4.75 points. The Nasdaq Canada index surged 11.80 points to 803.54. ON WALLSTREET In New York, stocks closed mixed Friday, at the end of another up week, as investors considered the Greek bailout package, reports of a naval conflict between North and South Korea and a weaker U.S. dollar. The Dow Jones industrial average put on 9.15 points to close at 10,850.36, a hike on the week of 108 points, or more than 1%. The S&P 500 index picked up 0.86 points to 1,166.59 (up 6.7 points or 0.6% on the week), while the tech-rich Nasdaq subsided 2.28 points to 2,395.13 (still good enough for a surge of 24 points over the week, or more than 1%). Stocks rose through the early afternoon after European leaders agreed to a bailout package for Greece and other debt-plagued euro zone nations, cooling fears of a default that would roil global markets. The Greece news overshadowed a report that showed the economy grew at a slower pace than initially thought in the fourth quarter of last year. But reports of a conflict between North and South Korea may have caused some stock selling. Reports said an explosion tore a hole in a South Korean vessel in the disputed waters near North Korea, and South Korean officials were investigating whether it was an attack from the North. However, the market may have been primed for a pullback anyway, after having hit 18-month highs on Wednesday. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 have all risen in six of the last seven weeks. Worries that Greece might default on its debt and kick off a broader debt crisis in Europe have dragged on the euro, leaving it at a 10-month low versus the dollar earlier this week. But news of the bailout lifted the European currency. The dollar's weakness versus both the euro and yen Friday gave a boost to dollar-traded commodity stocks, such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil, the Dow's biggest gainers Friday. Big multinational stocks that do a lot of business overseas also rose, as tends to be the case when the dollar is weaker. Financial shares were also among the day's gainers, with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Travelers rising on the Dow. But Microsoft and other select technology shares were weaker, dragging on the Nasdaq. After the close Thursday, Oracle reported weaker earnings that beat forecasts and higher revenue that also topped expectations. Shares slipped 1.3% Friday. Palm rose. The European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed to a joint program that would make cheap loans available should Greece or other euro zone nations be unable to raise them on their own. The deal, reached at the European Union summit in Brussels, would involve euro zone nations setting aside funds based on their GDP and population, meaning Germany will fund the biggest portion of the bill. The IMF will also contribute. Greece said at the end of last year that its budget deficit was 12.7% of its GDP, far beyond the 3% that the EU allows. The country has announced plans to cut costs -- including lowering government salaries and raising the retirement age -- but has had trouble paying off its debts and securing additional financing. Economically speaking, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment rose to 73.6 in March from 72.5 earlier in the month. Economists thought it would rise to 73, on average. Twenty-seven states reported rising unemployment rates in February, down from 30 states in January, according to state-by-state unemployment figures released Friday morning. Elsewhere, the U.S. government revised fourth-quarter gross domestic product to an annual rate of 5.6%, down from the previous reading of a 5.9% rise. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected GDP growth to remain unchanged at 5.9%. The price of the benchmark 10-year note was higher, lowering the yield to 3.85% from Thursday's 3.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil skidded 43 cents to $80.10 U.S. Gold prices moved $16 higher to $1,111 U.S.