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Toronto lower as hope for Greek crisis builds(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) RIM picks up pieces The Toronto stock market kept digging lower Friday as a disappointing outlook from Research In Motion Ltd. triggered a 20% plunge in the BlackBerry maker's stock while investors felt a bit better that Greece could avoid a default on its huge debts. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 63.18 points to end the day and week at 12,789.95. The Canadian dollar added 0.05 cents to 101.95 cents U.S. RIM shares fell $7.11 or 20.7% to $27.26 after the market heavyweight reported after the market close Thursday that earnings came in at $695 million U.S. or $1.33 per diluted share on $4.91 billion in revenue. It had lowered its financial guidance for the quarter in April. The results met analyst expectations but the investors were dismayed by RIM's comment that "the challenges in the United States, in particular, are making near-term earnings growth difficult." RIM plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs as it works to roll out a new generation of products to stay competitive. Elsewhere in the TSX tech sector, manufacturer Celestica Inc. fell 59 cents to $7.94. Canadian Natural Resources lost 27 cents to $38.08 and Imperial Oil dipped 65 cents to $44.12. All sectors on the TSX advanced except for tech and energy. The mining sector gained ground as metal prices advanced with the July copper contract on the Nymex down two cents at $4.10 U.S. a pound. Inmet Mining was ahead 67 cents to $65.26 and First Quantum improved by $3.64 to $119.01 as its board approved a five-for-one stock split effective Aug. 11, subject to shareholder approval. The industrials component rose sharply as Canadian National Railways gained 31 cents to $73.41 and Bombardier Inc. was ahead 10 cents at $6.98. The financials sector also supported the Toronto market with Royal Bank ahead 64 cents at $54.33. The gold sector was also higher as bullion prices turned around to add to three days of gains with the August contract in New York up $9.20 to $1,539.10 U.S. an ounce. Kinross Gold Corp. was ahead nine cents at $14.73. In other corporate news, broadband control system supplier Bridgewater Systems is being taken over by Amdocs Limited in a deal worth $211 million. The transaction is worth $8.20 per share in cash, which is a 30% premium over its closing price on Thursday. The agreement has the support of Bridgewater's board and its shares ran up $1.77, or nearly 28%, to $8.10. Investors sentiment improved after Germany calmed fears that it wanted to force losses on Greece's private creditors. The German government has come to an agreement with France that any private sector involvement should be voluntary as part of a new rescue plan European countries are preparing. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has struggled to garner support for a crucial new package of euro28 billion ($39.5 billion U.S.) in spending cuts and tax hikes demanded by the EU and IMF. The package must be voted through parliament if the country is to continue receiving funds from its bailout. On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale sales edged down 0.1% to $46.8 billion in April, following a 0.3% gain in March. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 8.59 points to 1,897.94 while the Nasdaq Canada index dropped 53.22 points to 520.72 In Toronto, nine of the 14 subgroups fell on the day. Information technology sank 4.7%, energy loosed 1%, while health-care listed lower 0.6%. The five gainers were led by real-estate, up 1%, metals and mining stocks, ahead 0.7%, and consumer discretionaries, ahead 0.5%. ON WALLSTREET In New York, stocks battled to end the week higher as investors monitored a sharp decline in oil prices and another wave of mixed economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average prospered 42.84 points to close at 12,004.40. The S&P 500 gained 3.86 points to 1,271.50. The Nasdaq Composite skimmed 7.22 points to 2,616.48. Technology shares weighed on the broader market, after Research in Motion slashed its full-year earnings outlook by 30% and announced layoff plans after the market closed Thursday. Shares plummeted 20% Cisco and Intel were the Dow's biggest laggards, falling more than 1%. In the S&P 500, shares of Apple, Google and AMD were down 1.5% or more. The Dow was on track to end the week slightly higher, possibly ending six straight weekly losses. The S&P 500 is still on pace to close lower for a seventh week. The recent decline in oil prices and new developments out of Greece has helped give the markets a short-term boost. Capital One said late Thursday it plans to acquire online banker ING Direct, making it the fifth-biggest U.S. deposit gatherer. Shares of the bank fell 0.5%. Shares of BankRate.com fell 1% in its public debut. The financial data website priced its initial public offering at $15 U.S. a share late Thursday and started trading under the ticker "RATE." Economically speaking, investors got another mixed bag of data to work through. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for June fell to a reading of 71.8, worse than the 73.5 reading that economists had expected. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators rose 0.8% in May, compared with the rise of 0.4% economists had forecasted. The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dipped, with yields rising to 2.94%, from Thursday's 2.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices dropped $1.88 to $93.07 U.S. a barrel Gold futures for August delivery were up $9.20 to $1,529.20 U.S. an ounce. © 1998 - 2011 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |