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Toronto continues advance(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Miners lower amid China data The Toronto stock market was modestly higher Wednesday amid positive earnings news and signs of weakening Chinese growth. The S&P/TSX composite index took on 21.23 points to greet noon at 14,577.20 The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 90.69 cents U.S. Canadian National Railways increased its first-quarter profit 12.2% to $623 million, despite severe winter weather, beating analyst expectations on both revenue and profit. Excluding gains from asset sales, CN earned $551 million or 66 cents per share, three cents ahead of estimates. Revenue grew 9% to $2.69 billion, ahead of estimates of $2.64 billion and its shares gained 87 cents to $64.44. Those results followed a well-received earnings report Tuesday from Canadian Pacific Railway that showed the company handily beat expectations. On Wednesday, electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc. said it had $47.1 million U.S. of adjusted net earnings in the first quarter, or $37.3 million U.S. under standard accounting, both up substantially from the same time last year -- despite soft demand from its customers in the communications equipment sector. Celestica's revenue of $1.312 billion U.S. missed expectations of $1.36 billion. Its adjusted earnings amounted to 26 cents per share against analyst expectations for 20 cents and its shares gained 17 cents to $12.23. Mining stocks weighed on the TSX as data showed that factory activity in China shrank for the fourth straight month in April, though the decline was slightly slower. The preliminary version of HSBC's purchasing managers' index edged up 48.3 from March's 48.0. May copper was unchanged at $3.05 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector dipped 0.5%. In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales moved higher 0.5% to $41.0 billion in February. Gains were reported in seven of 11 sub-sectors, representing 56% of total retail sales. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange added 3.40 points to 1,008.28 The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, gold leading the former bunch, up 1.7%, while information technology spiked 0.9% and energy gained 0.8%. The seven laggards were weighed mostly by consumer discretionary issues, down 0.5%, while real-estate and the metals and mining group were both off 0.3%. ON WALLSTREET Stocks headed slightly lower Wednesday morning as investors express caution following disappointing housing data and mixed corporate "report cards". The Dow Jones Industrial Average subtracted 23.09 points to 16,491.28 The S&P 500 slipped 2.85 points to 1,876.70, and the NASDAQ composite index dipped 25.17 to 4,136.29. The bulls are sifting through the latest quarterly results in an effort to send the S&P 500 to a seventh consecutive day of gains. On the upside, Dow Chemical reported a double-digit increase in net earnings per share compared to this time last year. Aircraft maker Boeing flew higher after exceeding profit forecasts and announcing an 8% revenue increase. Both stocks are up around 2% in early trading. Procter & Gamble, a producer of household consumer goods like Crest, Tide and Gillette, also had solid quarterly gains, although its stock fell in early trading. There was mixed news late yesterday when a slew of earnings came in just after the closing bell. Gilead Sciences shares rose 2% after it blew past earnings estimates, while Amgen failed to live up to analysts' expectations and is one of the biggest losers today. The biotech sector has taken a beating in recent weeks and was leading the NASDAQ lower on Wednesday after Amgen's miss. Shares of Yum! Brands fell even after the parent of KFC and Taco Bell beat earnings expectations with especially good growth in Asia. They have also announced the return of the infamous KFC "Double Down" sandwich. Despite bad weather that caused thousands of flight cancellations, Delta Air Lines beat expectations with soaring profits. Investors bid up the airline to an all-time high on the upbeat results. Apple, Facebook and Zynga are reporting after the close, along with consumer-focused companies Crocs and Cheesecake Factory. U.K.-based chip designer ARM Holdings reported record revenue and profit in the first quarter, but results were slightly weaker than analysts were expecting. Wall Street lost more ground after the government said new home sales tumbled 14.5% in March to the slowest pace since July. However, median prices of new homes sold rose to a record high of $290,000 U.S. The weaker-than-expected housing numbers led investors to sell shares of home builders such as Lennar and KB Home, which lost 2% and 4%, respectively. Also on the economic front, research firm Markit said the speed of U.S. manufacturing expansion slowed slightly in April. The data is preliminary until the end of the month. Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained strength, sending yields lower to 2.68% from Tuesday's 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices slid six cents to $101.69 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices took on $2.20 at $1,283.30 U.S. an ounce. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |