Feb. 11, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Canadian stocks opened lower Thursday as traders were waiting for the details of the plan announced by the European Union to rescue the debt-laden Greece.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 8.32 points to start the day to 11,278.01.
The Financials Index was down, with Royal Bank of Canada slipped 0.49%. Sun Life Financial shed 3.16% even after reporting better quarterly results.
Among energy plays, Canadian Oil Sands eased 0.21%. Meanwhile, EnCana Corp. added 0.65% despite reporting lower fourth-quarter net earnings.
On the other hand, the Gold Index edged up, with Lihir Gold adding 3.01%. Gold miner Kirkland Lake Gold edged up 0.14%. The company announced the appointment of Mark Stephen Tessier as COO and John Sidney Thomson as chief financial officer.
Multiple goods retailer Canadian Tire tumbled 9.08% after reporting lower fourth-quarter earnings.
Forest products company Canfor Corp. reported fourth-quarter net loss of $0.12 per share, down from $1.61 per share reported in the year-ago period.
Insurance provider Sun Life Financial said its quarterly profits more than doubled.
Wireless network operator Sierra Wireless slipped into the red reporting a fourth-quarter net loss $0.09 per share compared to profit of $1.12 per share last year.
Natural resources explorer Genco Resources announced that Leslie Goodman will replace Robert Gardner as Acting Chief Executive Officer, effective Wednesday.
Bio-pharmaceutical company Transition Therapeutics reported a second-quarter net loss of $0.26 per share, compared to a loss of $0.21 per share in the previous-year quarter.
Information technology service provider JDS Uniphase Canada said it will acquire the network solutions business of Agilent Technologies Inc. for $165 million in cash.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported this morning that the New Housing Price Index rose 0.4% in December, the same increase as reported in November.
The Canadian dollar progressed 0.34 cents to 94.40 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, eight were lower in the day's first hour of trading. Health-care and financial stocks were 0.7% off, while consumer discretionaries were down 0.4%.
The six gainers were led by metals and mining, up 1.1%, materials, down 0.9% and global base metals, off 0.6%.
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.29 points to 1,478.07, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved ahead 2.32 points to 724.24.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks inched lower early Thursday as investors remained cautious despite a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims and news that European leaders have reached a deal to help debt-ridden Greece.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down by 14.36 points as the day got started to 10,024.02.
The S&P 500 index skidded 2.76 points to 1,065.37 and the Nasdaq composite fell 4.04 points to 2,143.83.
Stocks fell Wednesday on concerns about the Greek debt situation, the strong dollar and the Federal Reserve's plan to withdraw some of the trillions of dollars it has used to bolster the nation's financial system.
The Dow has been straddling the 10,000 mark over the last few sessions, with investors unwilling to move much in either direction.
Also, one expert said that trading volume could be light, as some Wall Street traders encounter difficulty getting to work following the Wednesday snowstorm.
Concerns about the debt situations of European nations have also weighed on markets recently. But investors have been growing more optimistic that the problem will be addressed.
European leaders were meeting at a summit Thursday in Belgium, where the head of the European Union said members would be prepared to step in if needed to help Greece solve its debt issues.
On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims dropped to 440,000 in the week ended Feb. 6, which was lower than expected and a decline from the prior week.
Jobless claims were expected to total 465,000 in the week ended Feb. 6, according to a consensus of economists' forecasts from Briefing.com. Claims totaled 483,000 the prior week, according to revised figures.
PepsiCo reported that fourth-quarter earnings of 90 cents U.S. per share, matching expectations from a consensus of analysts surveyed by Briefing.com.
PepsiCo shares were modestly higher in the morning.
Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.72% from 3.64% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil stepped ahead two cents to $74.54 U.S.
Gold prices subtracted one dollar to $1,076 U.S.
