Business
TSX slides on day
TSX slides on day
About this update from Thomson Reuters Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"\nTSX slides on day\n\nStaples, materials down\n Feb. 24, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) -- The Toronto stock market was little changed Wednesday amid mixed earnings news and reassurance from the head of the U.S. central bank that key interest rates will stay low to stimulate the economy.\n\nThe S&P/TSX composite index ended the day off 4.88 points to 11,521.83\n\nInvestors also took in news mid-afternoon that Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has agreed to invest $2.63 billion U.S. in General Growth Properties Inc., a U.S. shopping mall operator that has been operating under bankruptcy protection.\n\nThe announcement came on the heels of a hostile, $10-billion U.S. bid for General Growth from Simon Property Group, the largest U.S. owner of shopping malls. Brookfield shares were off 15 cents at $24.02.\n\nThe TSX has been on a roller-coaster ride this year, falling almost 8% from mid-to-late January, followed by a rise of about 6% over the first three weeks of February as investors try to gauge the strength of the economic rebound.\n\nThe tech sector made hay, with Research In Motion Ltd. ahead $1.74 to $73.94.\n\nThe base metals sector was also ahead with March copper in New York up two cents at $3.24 U.S. a pound.\n\nSherritt International Corp. shares climbed 23 cents to $6.96 as the miner reported a $48.3-million profit for the fourth quarter -- a big contrast to the $592.1-million loss reported a year earlier by the metals, coal and oil producer. Revenue was little-changed at just under $380 million\n\nThe energy sector rose as the U.S. Department of Energy reported that crude inventories in the U.S. shot up by three million barrels last week, much higher than the 1.9 million barrels economists had expected.\n\nEnCana Corp. gained 16 cents to $34.00.\n\nThe gold sector was off as Centerra Gold Inc. said Tuesday it earned $140 million U.S. in its latest quarter. The Toronto-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said revenue came in at $323.9 million U.S. Its shares rose a penny to $11.80.\n\nThe consumer staples sector declined, with Maple Leaf Foods Inc. shares off 30 cents to $10.90 after the company reported fourth-quarter sales dipped slightly to $1.32 billion. The company had net income of $21.9 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $14.6 million a year earlier.\n\nMeanwhile, shares in the le...