Jan. 29, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
As in the past few days, Canadian stocks were struggling to sustain any direction in mid-morning deals Friday. Positive news in the form of GDP numbers from both sides of the border failed to enthuse investors, with the main index dawdling between positives and negatives.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index had settled back into the red by noon, losing 29.74 to 11,244.46
The Energy Index was up, as Canadian Oil Sands Trust rose 0.82% despite reporting a 23% drop in its fourth-quarter net profits at $0.20 per unit, compared to $0.26 a unit in the year-ago period.
Encana Corp. moved up 1.30%.
Petrobakken Energy gained 1.77% despite its price target was trimmed to $41.50 from $42.50 at Raymond James.
Technology stocks were trading higher, after briefly pausing in the previous session. Open Text added 1.88%. Meanwhile, Research In Motion pared its early morning gains, shedding 0.07%.
Mortgage insurer Genworth Mi Canada rose 1.72% after reporting that its fourth quarter net income rose to $0.74, per share from $0.66 per share reported a year ago.
On the other hand, the Gold Index eased, with Eldorado Gold trimming 1.74% and Anglo Gold slipping 1.36%.
Coal miner SouthGobi Energy dwindled 8.75% after its Hong Kong listed stocks drifted over 10% on their debut today.
Oil pipeline maker Enbridge Inc. slipped 0.32% after announcing $250 million expansion plans to handle increased activities from Canadian oil sands.
Construction material dealer Norbord Inc. eased 0.18% after reporting a narrower fourth-quarter loss of $0.25 per share compared to a loss of $1.88 per share last year.
Semiconductor and electronics dealer DALSA Corp. eased 0.12% after reporting fourth-quarter net loss from continuing operations of $0.06 per share, compared to a net income of or $0.23 per share in the prior year.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said today that the country's economy grew in November for the third month in a row. Elsewhere, StatsCan said its Industrial Product Price Index fell 0.1% and its Raw Material Price index by 1.7%, due to lower petroleum prices.
The Canadian dollar was flat at 93.76 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine had turned negative by midday. Gold slid 1.6%, while materials settled 1.5% and telecoms backtracked 0.8%.
The five gainers were led by consumer discretionaries, which progressed 0.4%, while global base metals and energy stocks were ahead 0.3% each.
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 5.86 points to 1,495.94, while the Nasdaq Canada index fell back 5.41 points to 695.49.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, the stock advance picked up speed Friday morning after a report showed that the U.S. economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in six years.
The Dow Jones industrial average was still in the green 28.79 points to 10,149.25. The S&P 500 index rose 1.26 points to 1,085.79. The Nasdaq composite slid 4.13 points to 2,174.87.
The stronger-than-expected GDP report seemed to soothe some of the worries that the stock market has gotten ahead of the recovery. Such fears played a role in the big selloff over the last week, after the major gauges peaked at over 15-month highs.
Worries about China's bank reserves and the Obama administration's plan to restrict trading by big banks also drove the selling.
Stocks tumbled Thursday after a cautious outlook from Qualcomm decked techs. A Standard & Poor's report saying the U.K.'s banking system is no longer one of the most stable and low risk also played a role in the selling.
On the upside, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was confirmed for a second term Thursday, ending the uncertainty that has hung over the market of late.
Rosy results from Microsoft and Amazon may help sustain stock gains. Microsoft posted profit and sales that topped estimates after U.S. markets closed Thursday. Amazon also reported better-than-expected results.
Gross Domestic Product, the broadest measure of the economy, rose at a 5.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter. That is significantly higher than the 4.7% rate that was expected by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. That's compared to an increase of 2.2% in the prior quarter.
The Chicago PMI, a regional manufacturing survey, is also on tap, as is the University of Michigan's survey on consumer sentiment.
President Obama is due to unveil a $33-billion U.S. package of tax credits aimed at job creation on Friday.
Treasury prices moved upward, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.64% from Thursday's 3.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil tacked on 18 cents to $73.82 U.S.
Gold prices lost eight dollars to $1,077 U.S.
