Dec. 2, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --
Bay Street stocks saw a lackluster open on Wednesday as traders mulled over the first of several key employment reports from the U.S. The market is looking to hold yesterday's sharp gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was slightly ahead, 11.41 points to 11,718.48.
In commodities, crude oil has lost strength ahead of the Energy Information Administration's weekly inventory report at 10:30 a.m. ET. On the other hand, gold extended its record high.
In corporate news, Agrium announced that it intends to nominate a slate of directors to stand for election at CF Industries Holdings 2010 annual stockholder meeting.
Rival Potash will resume operation at a Sussex-area mine on Sunday, following a temporary shutdown, according to the Canadian Press.
Logistics services provider Descartes Systems Group reported its third-quarter net income declined to $988,000 or $0.02 per share from $2.32 million or $0.04 per share in the previous year.
Canadian National Railway made a new offer to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference or TCRC, in an effort to break the impasse with the TCRC and end the strike.
Later in the week, employment data will be unveiled on both sides of the border.
Traders also awaited earnings reports from the financial sector later this week. Toronto Dominion, CIBC and National Bank are expected to report on Thursday with Royal Bank on Friday's agenda
The Canadian dollar gained 0.05 cents to 95.62 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, 10 were positive to start the day. Materials and gold had gained 1.8% each, while global base metals were up 1.4%.
The four losing groups were weighed by financials, off 0.3%, consumer staples, down 0.2%, while energy was off 0.1%.
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.41 points to 1,458.90, while the Nasdaq Canada advanced 8.37 points to 675.48.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks churned in early trading as investors weighed mixed readings on the labour market, the management shakeup at General Motors and record gold prices above $1,210 U.S. an ounce.
The Dow Jones Industrials lurched upward 9.9 points, to begin the day at 10,481.48. The S&P 500 index gained 1.31 points to 1,110.17, while the Nasdaq was up 9.73 points to 2,185.54.
Stocks rallied Tuesday as worries about Dubai's debt problems eased, pushing the Dow to a 14-month high. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both closed just short of 14-month highs.
Stocks may move higher later in the session, despite the mixed start to the day, said one expert, who added that rising gold, copper and aluminum prices, combined with a soft dollar, should help drive the markets.
General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson resigned late Tuesday, and chairman Ed Whitacre said he will take over as CEO until a replacement is found.
Henderson worked at GM for 25 years and took over as CEO after the Obama administration ousted Rick Wagoner in March during GM's government-supervised restructuring.
Economically speaking, payroll services firm ADP said employers in the private sector cut 169,000 jobs from their payrolls in November.
Employers in the private sector were expected to have cut 150,000 jobs from their payrolls in November, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
In the prior month, 195,000 jobs in the private sector were cut, according to revised figures.
In a separate report, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said 50,349 jobs were cut in November, the lowest number in nearly two years.
The Fed will release its Beige Book of economic conditions late this afternoon.
Treasury prices were slightly off, boosting the yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.29% from Tuesday's 3.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil tailed off 52 cents to $77.84 U.S.
Gold prices added another $9 to $1,209 U.S., an all-time record
