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TSX falls by close
[April 03, 2014]

TSX falls by close


(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Health-care lead retreat The Toronto stock market was lower Thursday afternoon as traders shifted their attention to upcoming employment data.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended Thursday down 56.90 points to 14,402.21 The Canadian dollar demurred 0.03 cents at 90.60 cents U.S.

Toronto's main stock index has been on a tear, rising nearly 6% since the start of the year and near levels that haven't been seen since the summer of 2008. However, questions have persisted over whether the S&P/TSX Composite is headed toward a ceiling.



In corporate news, Fortis Inc. one of Canada's largest utility companies, received approval from U.S. regulators for its $4.3-billion purchase of UNS Energy Corp., an Arizona-based electricity and gas utility company. Fortis shares were down four cents to $31.44.

Shares of Hudson's Bay Co. dropped 5.1% after it reported the acquisition of U.S. luxury retailer Saks helped sales increase nearly 75% in the fourth quarter, while its profits dropped about 66%, to $29.1 million from $86.8 million a year ago. Its stock was off 96 cents to $17.86.


Goldcorp has extended its hostile takeover bid for Osisko Mining, a day after Osisko announced a friendly deal involving Yamana Gold, and two of Canada's largest pension funds.

The bid was set to expire Friday, but has now been extended until 5 p.m. ET on April 15. Goldcorp shares dipped 47 cents to $27.14, while Osisko shares fell 13 cents to $7.22, and Yamana shares docked five cents to $9.43.

In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that this country's merchandise exports grew 3.6% and imports were up 2.1% in February. As a result, our trade balance with the world swung from a deficit of $337 million in January to a surplus of $290 million in February.

ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange backtracked 4.33 points to 1,001.96 All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, as health-care stocks took a dive of 2%, gold sifted off 1.1%, and telecoms lost 1%.

The two gainers were energy, up 0.5%, and information technology, up 0.2%.

ON WALLSTREET Stocks hit new milestones shortly after the markets opened before pulling back.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day in negative country by 0.45 points to 16,572.55. The S&P 500 lost 2.13 points to finish at 1,888.77. The NASDAQ stumbled 38.72 points to 4,237.74 On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed at a new high, its eighth of the year. But the question remains as to whether this momentum will continue.

In corporate news, newly issued Google shares started trading Thursday as a result of the tech giant's long-anticipated two-for-one stock split. The new class C shares, which trade under the original "GOOG," symbol and have no voting rights, rose in morning trading before going negative in the afternoon.

Old Google class A shares, which retained their voting rights and trade under the new symbol, "GOOGL," went up in the morning and then fell back.

Shares of both classes of Google began trading at around $570 U.S. -- but the A shares have maintained a higher share price all day, as expected.

Barnes and Noble plunged 15% after one of its largest shareholders, John Malone's Liberty Media Corporation, announced that is reducing its stake in the struggling bookseller. Barnes and Noble has bounced back over 25% this year after being one of the worst performers in the S&P 500 in 2013.

In a press release, the Liberty Media said the move would give Barnes and Noble "greater flexibility to accomplish their strategic objectives." Shares of Pandora ticked down after initially jumping after the Internet radio service released figures showing notable jumps in its number of active listeners in March. The number of hours listened for the month also rose.

Netflix continued its slide Thursday. After a huge run, shares of the entertainment site have pulled back about 20% in the past month as the company faces growing concerns about its high valuation and increasing competition.

Yelp shares lost 6% after falling more than 5% Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the review site receives around six subpoenas each month, often relating to business owners suing the company.

FireEye, a cybersecurity firm that many analysts thought would benefit from selling software to root out hackers after the Target credit and debit card data breach, plunged 9% Thursday after receiving an unfavorable rating from advisory firm NSS Labs. But the stock is still up over 56% from its December IPO.

Twitter continued its downward slope today. The stock has been falling back ever since it forecast slowing sales and user growth in its fourth-quarter earnings report.

As widely expected, the European Central Bank said it will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25%. But the central bank is facing growing pressure to do more to stimulate the euro-zone economy as risks of deflation rise and the euro remains a strong currency.

ECB President Mario Draghi tried to use words to calm the markets. He affirmed in a press conference the bank's commitment to keep inflation at a healthy level, but he didn't announce any new measures to prop up the economy.

Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were higher by noon, lowering yields to 2.79% from Wednesday's 2.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices gained 80 cents to $100.42 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices slipped $3.20 to $1,287.60 U.S. an ounce.

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