TSX cloSeS liTTle changed on miXed reSource earningS

TORONTO • The Toronto stock market closed little changed Thursday amid a mixed bag of earnings reports from the resource sector and higher commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index dipped 3.16 points to 12,669.14 after earnings released from Teck Resources Ltd. and Husky Energy Inc. beat expectations.

But global fertilizer producer Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan weighed on the exchange as it missed expectations and lowered its 2013 profit forecast.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.49 of a cent to US97.73¢.

U.S. indexes turned higher amid earnings from General Motors Co. and Facebook Inc. that also beat expectations.

The Dow Jones industrials edged up 13.37 points to 15,555.61, the Nasdaq gained 25.59 points to 3605.19 and the S&P 500 index was up 4.31 points to 1690.25.

Teck reported a second-quarter adjusted profit of $197-million or 34¢ a share, down sharply from $398-million of profit a year ago but 3¢ above estimates. One of Canada’s largest coal producers and a major miner of copper, zinc and other commodities, Teck said it’s increasing cost-reduction efforts to deal with lower prices for its products. Its shares advanced 72¢ to $24.41.

“Obviously, they can beat expectations that have been lowered,” said Allan Small, a senior advisor at DWM Securities, who owns Teck shares. “[But] it’s going to be a little while yet before we see Teck doing well.”

He pointed out that “many in the investment world are not expecting much out of the base-metal miners,” in large measure because of slowing growth in China and falling demand.

But he also noted that a rising U.S. dollar is also depressing prices and “as the currency gets more expensive, you tend to buy less.” A stronger greenback makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies to buy oil and metals that are denominated in U.S. dollars.

Husky Energy gained 57¢ to $30.15 as it said quarterly profit rose 40% from a year ago to $605-million or 59¢ a share.

Earnings ex-items were 62¢, 5¢ better than estimates.

Meanwhile, Goldcorp Inc. reported a US$1.93-billion net loss in the second quarter, as it was hit by a massive writedown of its Penasquito mine in Mexico due to the falling price of gold and its impact on the project’s exploration potential.

The Vancouver-based mining company says it would have been profitable in the second quarter without the writedown, but its adjusted earnings were still down from last year and missed analysts’ estimates. Its shares lost 39¢ to $28.85. Shares in Potash Corp. fell 82¢ to $38.35 after it cut its profit estimate for the current year and reported a quarterly profit of $643-million, or 73¢ per diluted share, up from $522-million (60¢) a year ago. The results missed estimates of 79¢ per share.

In the U.S., General Motors says secondquarter net income fell 16% to $1.26-billion or 75¢ a share as slowing international profits and losses in Europe offset strong North American earnings. Still, GM soundly beat Wall Street’s expectations. Excluding one-time items, it made 84¢ per share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 75¢.