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TSX flat by close(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Gold shines brightest The Toronto stock market was slightly lower Wednesday amid positive earnings news and signs of weakening Chinese growth. The S&P/TSX composite index docked 22.58 points to end Wednesday's session at 14,533.39 The Canadian dollar dropped 0.05 cents at 90.64 cents U.S. In Canada, 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 faded 19 cents to $63.38. Those results followed a well-received earnings report Tuesday from Canadian Pacific Railway that showed the company handily beat expectations. CP stock dipped $2.12 to $170.50. Aslo 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 customers in the communications equipment sector. Celestica's revenue of $1.312 billion U.S. missed expectations of $1.36 billion. But adjusted earnings amounted to 26 cents per share against analyst expectations for 20 cents and its shares gained 19 cents to $12.25. The TSX base metals sector drifted lower as data showed that factory activity in China shrank for the fourth consecutive 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 up a cent at $3.06 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources hiked nine cents to $24.67. The energy sector was ahead and Suncor Energy was up $1.05 to $41.37, while rival Imperial Oil was ahead 45 cents to $52.61. The gold sector was up as Barrick Gold spiked 22 cents to $19.59. 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 6.10 points to 1,010.98 Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, as health-care dove 1.4%, consumer discretionary stocks were off 0.9% and utilities were 0.8% to the bad. The five gainers were led by gold, up 2.1%, consumer staples, up 1%, and information technology, up 0.8%. ON WALLSTREET Wall Street's six-day win streak came to an end on Wednesday as the bulls hit the pause button after disappointing housing data and mixed earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average subtracted 12.72 points to 16,501.65 The S&P 500 slipped 4.16 points to 1,875.39, and the NASDAQ composite index fell 34.39 to 4,126.97. SodaStream International popped 14% after an Israeli paper said Starbucks is in advanced talks about taking a 10% stake in the household soda-machine maker. Starbucks fell almost 1% on the report, while Keurig Green Mountain, a rival to SodaStream, shed more than 4%. Investors 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 over 1%. Procter & Gamble, a producer of household consumer goods like Crest, Tide and Gillette, also had solid quarterly gains, although its stock fell Wednesday. Despite bad weather that caused thousands of flight cancellations, Delta Air Lines beat expectations with soaring profits. Investors bid up the airline 5% to an all-time high on the upbeat results. There was mixed news late Tuesday when a slew of earnings came in just after the closing bell. Gilead Sciences shares rose 3% after it blew past earnings estimates. On the other hand, 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. The tech sector was also dragged lower by selloffs from EMC and Juniper Networks following their quarterly results. Shares of Yum! Brands fell 2% 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. Apple, Facebook and Zynga are reporting after the close, along with consumer-focused companies Crocs andCheesecake Factory Apple is down today, while Facebook is up ahead of their highly anticipated results. 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. Stocks related to home construction also took a hit, including Home Depot and Owens Corning, which makes insulation products and roofing shingles. 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 2.69% from Tuesday's 2.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices slid 26 cents to $101.49 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices took on $3.60 at $1,284.70 U.S. an ounce. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |