Apr. 13, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Canadian stocks endured a lower opening Tuesday amid falling commodities prices and after a discouraging quarterly numbers from aluminum producer Alcoa. Also, mixed economic data is likely to keep investors guessing on the Bank of Canada's interest rate outlook. The S&P/TSX Composite Index plunged 77.63 points to begin Tuesday at 12,071.03 Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was ticking higher near parity with the U.S. dollar after a survey by Bank of Canada showed corporations expect sales growth over the next year. Mining stocks may be in play after the largest aluminum producer in U.S. Alcoa Inc reported lower than-expected first-quarter sales, after the market closed Monday. In corporate news from Canada, dollar stores operator Dollarama said three of its major shareholders will sell at least 10.1 million shares for $24.60 a share in a secondary offer. Biotechnology company Thallion Pharmaceuticals reported a narrower net loss of $0.08 per share for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $0.10 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company attributed this to reductions in R&D expenses. Medical devices maker Neovasc Inc. reported significantly narrower full-year consolidated net loss of $0.18 basic loss per share compared to $2.95 basic loss per share in the prior year period. Natural gas focused energy trust Paramount Energy Trust said that it has agreed to sell three non-core properties for total proceeds of $34.1 million. Automobile dealer AutoCanada Inc. said it has completed the purchase of the assets of the dealership formerly known as Future Hyundai. Oil and gas explorer Zone Resources said that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement of up to three million units at a price of $0.15 per unit for total proceeds of up to $450,000 Oil and gas explorer Gale Force Petroleum announced the closure of $1.74 million private placement. Petroleum and natural gas explorer NuLoch Resources swung to profit in the fourth quarter, reporting net earnings of $0.02 per share, compared to a loss of $0.01 per share in the prior-year quarter. Coal miner CIC Energy slipped into the red in the first quarter, reporting net loss of $0.06 per share compared with a net profit of $0.01 per share in the prior-year period. Engineering technologies solutions provider Rutter Inc. posted a narrower second-quarter net loss of $0.01 per share, compared to $0.02 per share in the prior-year period. Agricultural products dealer Viterra Inc. said it will sell its 50% interest in the Australian Bulk Alliance joint venture to Sumitomo. Air pollution control systems maker BIOREM Inc. slipped to loss in the fourth quarter, reporting net loss of $0.04 per share compared to net income of $0.02 per share last year. In economic news, Statistics Canada said Tuesday the nation's trade surplus grew by a larger-than-expected $1.40 billion in February, as exports were up by 2.8% to $34.02 billion, while imports increased 0.9% to $32.62 billion. In other report, the agency said the price of Canadian new homes grew by 0.1% in February from the earlier month and was up by 0.9% year-over-year. The Canadian dollar slipped 0.11 cents to 99.61 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET All but two of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower. Materials were the worst off, going down by 1.2%, while gold and metals and mining stocks gave back 1.1% each. The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 9.60 points soon after the opening bell to 1,664.07, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved 2.07 points lower to 781.69. ON WALLSTREET In New York, stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors digested a mixed earnings report from Alcoa and took a step back after pushing the Dow industrials above the key 11,000 level. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.44 points to begin the trading day at 10,987.53. The S&P 500 index shaved off 2.79 points to 1,193.69, while the Nasdaq composite lost 3.25 points to 2,454.62. Aluminum producer Alcoa reported first-quarter earnings late Monday that met expectations, but revenue fell short. Shares slipped nearly 3% in premarket trading. Chip leader Intel reports results after the close. The Dow component is expected to have earned 38 cents U.S. per share after earning 11 cents U.S. per share a year ago. First-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are forecast to jump nearly 37%, when compared with last year's abysmal first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue figures should also be up a rosy 10% from a year earlier. Looking ahead, JPMorgan Chase reports quarterly results Wednesday, while Google and Bank of America are due later in the week. Economically speaking, the government reported a larger-than-expected increase in the U.S. trade gap for February. The nation's international trade deficit in goods and services increased to $39.7 billion U.S. in February from a revised $37 billion U.S. in January, the Commerce Department said. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting the gap to widen to $38.5 billion U.S. The deficit expanded as exports totaled $143.2 billion U.S., while imports reached $182.9 billion U.S. U.S. Treasurys gained ground, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.80% from Monday's 3.85%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil slid 92 cents to $83.42 U.S. Gold prices moved down $11 to $1,152 U.S. an ounce.
