MN: Markets down as earnings disappoint, oil slips
Markets opened lower Thursday on poor earnings results in Canada and a lack of details on how European leaders will help Greece with its debt crisis, even as data from the U.S. showed jobless claims there improving "massively."
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 46.33 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 11,240.01 in early trading.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil was down 29 cents U.S. to $74.23 U.S. a barrel. Gold was up $1 U.S. in early trading to $1,077.30 U.S. an ounce.
The Canadian dollar rose 35 basis points to 94.42 cents U.S..
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average fell 55.32 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 9,983.06. The Nasdaq composite index was down 5.41 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 2,142.46.
U.S. weekly jobless claims improved "massively," according to Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities. The number of initial claims for the week of Feb. 6 fell to 440,000 from 483,000 — a much bigger decline than the 465,000 drop expected. Continuing claims also fell to 4.54 million during the week of Jan. 30 from 4.62 million the month before.
Mulraine added, "the dramatic improvement in the pace of jobless claims should put to rest some of the doubts that have arisen recently about the state of the U.S. labour market."
Statistics Canada said on Thursday new home prices in Canada climbed 0.4 per cent in December over the previous month, but were still down 0.9 per cent compared to December 2008. The increase was due to improved market conditions and rock-bottom interest rates, and matched Reuters estimates.
In earnings, Sun Life Financial said Thursday its fourth quarter profit more than doubled as losses in the U.S. eased significantly and market conditions improved, but still missed estimates. Shares were trading at $30.35, down $1.01 shortly after opening.
Canadian retail giant Canadian Tire announced Thursday fourth-quarter and full-year profits were down, mainly on lower retail sales and losses at its financial services branch. Its shares were trading at $54, down $1.16.
And Canada's largest natural gas producer, EnCana Corp., announced a 41 per cent decrease in fourth-quarter profit on lower gas prices. Its shares were trading at $32.70, up 23 cents.
Overseas markets were mixed Thursday. European leaders in the in the 16-nation euro zone announced Thursday that they reached a deal to provide aid to debt-sticken Greece, but European markets remained subdued as details of the deal remained unclear.
The U.K.'s FTSE index was up 35.4 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 5,167.39 at midday. The DAX index in Germany lost 8.83 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 5,527.54 and France's CAC fell 9.46 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 3,626.15.
In Asia, China's consumer price index rose 1.5 per cent in January over the corresponding period a year before, below expectations of a 2.1 per cent increase. Producer price inflation, however, accelerated to 4.3 per cent annually from 1.7 per cent in the prior month — higher than expected.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 368.47 points, or 1.85 per cent, to 20,290.69. Japan's Nikkei index was closed for a holiday, but ended Wednesday up 31.09 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 9,963.99.
On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up up 12.09 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 11,286.33. In the U.S., the Dow closed down 20.26 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 10,038.38. The Nasdaq was down three points, or 0.14 per cent, to 2,147.87.
