weak mining stocks leave tsX flat
The Toronto stock market closed little changed Friday as mining stocks fell alongside prices for gold and copper.
The S&P/TSX composite index had started the session off with a modest gain amid an early rise in oil prices and positive U.S. earnings news, but closed down 6.99 points at 12,816.63. The TSX Venture Exchange fell 2.22 points to 1,227.24.
The Canadian dollar fell US0.36¢ to US99.35¢, its lowest level since early August. The tumble came a day after closing below parity with the American currency for the first time since mid-November.
The loonie has been under pressure since the Bank of Canada indicated Wednesday that any interest rate increases will likely be further down the road than previously expected because of economic weakness. The dollar had found support in recent months partly on sentiment that the central bank could hike rates later this year.
Selling pressure on the currency increased Friday amid data showing inflation remained tame late last year. Statistics Canada said that the annual inflation rate was 0.8% in December, the same as in November.
Friday’s economic data helped add to the decline in the loonie as weak price pressures mean that the central bank doesn’t have to raise rates to curb high in- flation. Higher rates tend to attract investors and push up the currency.
New York’s Dow Jones industrials finished up 70.65 points at 13,895.98, the Nasdaq climbed 19.33 points to 3,149.71 and the S&P 500 index rose 8.14 points to 1,502.96, its first close above 1,500 since late 2007.
Oilfield services company Halliburton reported a 26% decline in fourth-quarter net income, hit by costs from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, acquisitions and a seasonal slowdown in North America. But adjusted results beat expectations and its shares rose 5.05% to US$39.72.
Microsoft stock erased early losses to move ahead 0.9% to $27.88 after the software giant said after the close Thursday that it earned $6.4 billion, or 76¢ per share, in the final three months of the year. That was down 4% from a year earlier.
In Canada, shares in business software company Open Text Corp. fell 20¢ to $59.68 after it said Thursday that it earned US$61.1 million in the latest quarter, up from $47.4 million a year ago. Elsewhere in the tech sector, Research
In Motion Ltd. was down 19¢ or 1.07% to $17.61. Its stock has soared about 50% since the beginning of the year — and 12% this week alone — as enthusiasm builds ahead of the unveiling of RIM’s new BlackBerry 10 lineup on Wednesday.