TSX Slightly higher as dollar Tumbles
• The Toronto stock market closed slightly higher Tuesday amid a mixed slate of earnings data and a couple of strong U.S. economic reports.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 10.9 points to 13,692.38, well off the best levels of the session as the gold and financial sectors turned negative.
The Canadian dollar tumbled 0.86 of a cent to 91.34¢ US, with currency traders cautious ahead of next week’s Bank of Canada interest rate announcement.
The U.S. dollar strengthened and New York indexes registered strong gains after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.2% last month, higher than the 0.1% increase that economists expected. Other data showed that U.S. companies built up their stockpiles in November by 0.4% as sales improved. Continued growth in inventories suggests businesses believe consumers will increase spending in the months ahead.
The Dow Jones industrials ran ahead 115.92 points to 16,373.86, the Nasdaq advanced 69.72 points to 4,183.02 and the S&P 500 index climbed 19.68 points to 1,838.88.
Markets sold off Monday on concerns about what the Federal Reserve might do about further cutting back on its key stimulus program and worries about whether the American equity markets were looking too expensive and that perhaps it was time for a correction.
The S&P 500 rocketed about 30% last year, helped in large measure by Fed stimulus. Investors now want to see if strong earnings and revenue can justify that gain and push stock prices higher.
But Pashootan added that guidance is also very important for the quarter.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase shares inched up four cents to US$57.74 as the bank said quarterly net income came in at $5.3-billion, down from $5.7-billion a year earlier. Ex-items, earnings per share were $1.40 versus the $1.35 that analysts had forecast.
Wells Fargo turned in fourth-quarter earnings of $1 per share, 2¢ better than analysts had forecast. Revenue came in at $20.7-billion, better than the $20.69-billion that had been expected. Its shares, which have run up sharply over the last quarter, were up 3¢ at $45.59.
Corus Entertainment Inc. posted adjusted net income of C$ 55.2-million, or 65¢ a share, 3¢ higher than estimates. Revenue was $226-million, up from $209-million a year earlier and short of estimates. Corus also said it was raising its dividend 7% and its shares jumped 81¢ to $25.40.
Shaw Communications Inc. reports it had $245-million of quarterly net income, or 51¢ per share. That’s up from $235-million or 50¢ per share a year earlier and 2¢ above analyst estimates. Shaw’s revenue rose 3.3% to $1.36-billion, beating estimates of $1.36-billion but its shares fell 43¢ to $24.88 as RBC Capital Markets noted that employee bonuses and programming costs weighed on margins.
Most TSX strength came from a 1.6% rise in the base metals sector even as March copper moved down one cent to US$3.34 a pound. The gold sector was the major TSX drag, down 0.25% as February bullion drifted down $5.70 to US$1,245.40 an ounce.