Jan. 15, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
The Toronto stock market endured a sharp loss for the week Friday afternoon as key earnings from the American financial sector and more soft economic data sparked a selloff.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index jettisoned 119.01 points, or 1%, to 11,685.37
The main index's loss was about 2% for the week, more than wiping out the sharp gain racked up in the first week of 2010 trading as investors passed judgment on the initial batch of U.S. quarterly earnings reports.
The Toronto financial sector pulled back after JPMorgan Chase reported that it earned $3.28 billion U.S. or 74 cents U.S. a share during the final three months of 2009.
Royal Bank stepped back 77 cents to $54.98 and TD Bank fell 70 cents to $63.64.
Among stocks in the gold sector, Barrick Gold dropped 49 cents to $40.89.
Shares in Kinross Gold Corp. were down 83 cents to $19.91 after the company said it expects to produce about 2.2 million gold equivalent ounces in 2010, consistent with its 2009 production.
Novus Gold Corp. and Terra Ventures Inc. two junior mineral exploration companies, say they've made a new gold discovery on the REN property in Northwest Territories. Novus shares were unchanged at 25 cents while Terra shares gained 2.5 cents to 49.5 cents on the TSX Venture Exchange.
The TSX energy sector was down as oil prices moved back for a fifth session with Suncor Inc. losing 66 cents to $36.86 and Canadian Natural Resources fell 62 cents to $72.18.
The base metals sector moved lower as March copper was off two cents at $3.36 U.S. Sherritt International lost nine cents to $7.10 and FNX Mining stepped back 39 cents to $12.59.
In other corporate news, American fertilizer company CF Industries Holdings Inc. is dropping its hostile pursuit of U.S. rival Terra Industries Inc. The move clears a key obstacle for Calgary-based Agrium Inc. which has had its sights set on CF since last February, but has seen all of its overtures rebuffed.
Agrium's more-than-$5.4-billion U.S. offer for CF was made on the condition CF abandon its efforts to take over Terra.Agrium shares were down $2.75 to $64.15.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said today New Motor Vehicle sales dipped 6% to 124,764 units in November, after moving up for the past four months.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.53 cents to 97.18 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but two of the 14 TSX subgroups finished the day lower. Gold lost 1.6% of its luster, while global base metals were off 1.4% and materials shed 1.2%.
The two gaining groups were utilities and real-estate, up 0.1%.
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 1.98 points to 1,593.31, while the Nasdaq Canada index subtracted 7.43 points to 730.92.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks slipped Friday afternoon, one day after closing at multi-month highs, as investors welcomed better-than-expected profit reports from JPMorgan Chase and Intel, but opted to sell shares regardless.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 100.90 points to end the week at 10,609.65. The S&P 500 took off 12.43 points to 1.136.03, and the Nasdaq retreated 28.75 points to 2,287.00.
A mild reading on inflation, a mostly in-line reading on manufacturing and a better-than-expected report on consumer sentiment were also in the mix.
Stocks managed gains Thursday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 closing at the highest point since Oct. 1, 2008, and the Nasdaq ending at the highest point since Sept. 3, 2008.
But gains so far this year have been slow, following last year's massive runup. Stocks are likely to drift as investors wait for more fourth-quarter profit and economic reports.
Investors were also focusing on some of the negatives in JPMorgan and Intel's otherwise positive quarterly results
JPMorgan Chase reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit of $3.3 billion U.S. Friday morning, trouncing estimates, as the financial behemoth moved closer toward making a full recovery from last year's credit crisis.
But revenue missed forecasts. JPMorgan also reported big losses on credit card and mortgage loans, concerning investors who were looking for signs that credit is improving. The company also added $1.9 billion U.S. to its consumer loan loss reserves.
JPMorgan shares fell 2%.
Other big financial shares slipped too, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
Dow component Intel reported quarterly results after the close of trade Thursday. The chipmaker said it earned 40 cents U.S. per share in the fourth quarter on sales of $10.6 billion U.S.
Both earnings and sales trounced estimates and marked a sharp improvement from the previous year. But shares slipped 2% in Friday trading.
On the economic front, The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 72.8 in January from 72.5 in December. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would rise to 74.
Elsewhere, the Consumer Price Index, a key inflation reading, showed a less-than-expected increase of 0.1% for December. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected an increase of 0.2%, compared to a rise of 0.4% the prior month.
The core CPI for December also rose 0.1%.
Treasury prices spiked, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.67% from Thursday's 3.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil lost $1.39 to $78.00 U.S.
Gold prices lost $12 to $1,131 U.S.
