Toronto's main market was moderately higher Wednesday afternoon, after better-than-expected imports data out of China and amid indications of division regarding the future of economic stimulus measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Gains were tempered, however, as major commodities lost ground and weighed on the resource heavy index, with gold leading the decline after Goldman Sachs today downgraded its price forecast for the precious metal for the second time in less than two months.
Goldman said it now sees an average price of $1,545 an ounce in 2013, down from an earlier forecast of $1,610, with average prices falling to $1,350 in 2014 from $1,490 expected previously.
Data out of China showed that the country posted an unexpected trade deficit of US$800 million in March as imports rose 14.1 per cent after having grown five per cent in the combined January-February period. Expectations were that the country would report a surplus of $14.7 billion.
Meanwhile, ratings agency Fitch has cut its rating on China’s long-term local currency sovereign debt, citing potential risks from rapid growth in credit and local government debt loads. The rating was cut from AA minus to A plus.
Back in North America, the Fed surprised investors when it released its March 19-20 policy meeting minutes early this morning.
Traders seemed unfazed by comments suggesting that officials remained divided over how long the Fed should keep up its bond-buying program known as quantitative easing, with some suggesting it be slowed as early as this summer.
The Fed released the minutes early after discovering that some copies had been sent by mistake to some Congressional staff and trade groups on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama will submit his proposed 2014 budget to Congress today.
In Toronto, as of around 12:30 p.m. ET, the S&P/TSX Composite was up 51.30 points, or 0.41%, to 12,535.35, while the more junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite fell 9.83 points, or 0.93%, to 1,044.94.
In commodities markets, gold futures tumbled after Goldman Sachs slashed its forecast for this year and next, with the yellow metal for June delivery lately declining $17.90 to $1,568.80 an ounce, while silver futures shed 33 cents to $27.55 an ounce. The base metal copper contract was lately down 3 cents at $3.41 a pound.
Crude oil futures fell Wednesday, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a climb in crude supplies that was less than the market expected. Crude supplies rose 300,000 barrels for the week ended April 5, lower than the 1.4 million-barrel rise Platts’ analysts expected. The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday a 5.1 million barrel rise in crude supplies.
Crude oil for May delivery was down 36 cents at $93.84 a barrel.
Toronto's main sectors were mostly higher, with only materials, metals and mining and info tech lately in the red.
Gold giants in Toronto fell alongside the depressed price of the yellow metal, with Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) slumping 6.3% after a Chilean court suspended construction of the company's massive Pascua-Lama gold project on environment grounds.
According to a MarketWatch report, a spokesman from Barrick declined to comment on the court order, saying the company had yet to review it.
Elsewhere, Kinross Gold (TSE:K) and Goldcorp (TSE:G) fell 3.79% and 2.37%, respectively.
Materials were down over 2% Wednesday, with decliners led by Alacer Gold Corp. (TSE:ASR) – down 6.75% even as it announced that a special dividend from the sale of its 49% interest in the Frog’s Lake mine in Australia will be paid at the end of the month. Premier Gold Mines (TSE:PG) also slumped 5.58%.
Advances in the sector were seen in Mercator Minerals (TSE:ML) – up about 3% after it said that recent changes to the grinding circuit have resulted in sustained throughput increases of approximately 20% to average 54,700 tonnes per day (tpd) at its wholly-owned Mineral Park mine.
Elsewhere, North American Palladium (TSE:PAL) rose 2.99% and OceanaGold (TSE:OG) added 1.5% after it yesterday announced that its first shipment of roughly 5,000 dry tonnes of copper-gold concentrate was en route to Hibi, Japan.
In metals and mining news, Caledonia Mining (LON:CMCL, TSE:CAL) has posted a 14% increase in quarterly gold production from its Blanket mine in Zimbabwe.
Timmins Gold Corp. (TSE:TMM)(NYSE MKT:TGD), in a preliminary report, posted a near 32% increase in gold production for its first quarter, hitting record levels.
Shares of Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSE:WDO) rallied Wednesday, after the company released preliminary first-quarter production and sales results, and said that it expects to meet or exceed its full-year guidance of 55,000 gold ounces.
The energy sector also moved higher Wednesday, with advances led by NuVista Energy (TSE:NVA) – up 4.14% -while Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSE:ATH) and Arc Resources (TSE:ARX) both added over 3%.
Declines in the sector were seen in Legacy Oil Plus Gas (TSE:LEG), PetroBakken Energy (TSE:PBN) and oilfield services company Mullen Group (TSE:MTL) – down 2.01%, 1.69% and 1.65%, respectively.
In other energy news, Caza Oil & Gas (LON:CAZA) (TSE:CAZ) has drawn down £500,000 of its £6mln standby equity distribution agreement with YA Global Master SPV.
Financials were sharply higher Wednesday, led by insurer Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) and Canada's largest bank by assets Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) – advancing 2.73% and 1.88%, respectively.
Elsewhere in the sector, insurer Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) rose 1.06%, while Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNK) rose 1.69%.
In other corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (TSE:VRX) added 0.74% after it settled a patent lawsuit between its Medicis subsidiary and generic giant Actavis Inc. (NYSE:ACT). The lawsuit was related to Actavis’ version of two Medicis products — Ziana, an acne topical antibiotic, and Zyclara, a prescription drug for premalignant skin problems.
Valeant will receive a share of the proceeds from generic versions of products.
Bombardier (TSE:BBD.B) shares gained Wednesday after the company announced that Porter Airlines signed a deal for 12 of its CS100 airliners, with options for an additional 18 for a value of up to $2.08 billion.
*U.S./Europe*
U.S. stocks were posting solid gains Wednesday, as traders cheered China import data and shrugged off the division between Fed officials on monetary stimulus measures after the release of its latest policy meeting.
The Dow was lately up 128.32 points at 14,802.17, the Nasdaq added 55.13 points to 3,292.99, and the S&P 500 was higher by 17.31 points at 1,585.92.
In earnings news today, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter net income, despite sales rising 11% to $696 million. Its stock gained 0.68% as adjusted profit topped analyst expectations.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) said Wednesday that its fiscal second-quarter net income rose, as more customers came in to its stores and spent more, with the company also benefitting from an extra week in the latest period. The retailer, however, lowered its full year view, citing continued pressure on discretionary sales due to cash strapped customers and cold spring weather. Shares gained 1% this afternoon.
Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ:FAST) shares shed over 3% after the wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies reported a higher first quarter profit, but cautioned that economic activity of its customers slowed.
Elsewhere, shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) dropped more than 5% after gaining sharply on Tuesday, by 45%, following its full year guidance that well topped analyst estimates.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE:THC) shares fell 4.57% Wednesday as shares were downgraded to a hold rating from buy by Deutsche Bank.
Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) shares dropped 0.89% on Wednesday, following a decline in the previous session as KPMG resigned as the company's auditor in the wake of an insider trading scandal at the accounting firm.
In media reports, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are discussing how to add more content from Yahoo News to Apple's iPhones and iPads, though a deal is reportedly not expected soon. Shares of Yahoo lately gained 1.76%.
European markets closed sharply higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX was up 2.27% while France's CAC 40 rose 1.99% and Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.17%. Reported by Proactive Investors 1 hour ago.
Gains were tempered, however, as major commodities lost ground and weighed on the resource heavy index, with gold leading the decline after Goldman Sachs today downgraded its price forecast for the precious metal for the second time in less than two months.
Goldman said it now sees an average price of $1,545 an ounce in 2013, down from an earlier forecast of $1,610, with average prices falling to $1,350 in 2014 from $1,490 expected previously.
Data out of China showed that the country posted an unexpected trade deficit of US$800 million in March as imports rose 14.1 per cent after having grown five per cent in the combined January-February period. Expectations were that the country would report a surplus of $14.7 billion.
Meanwhile, ratings agency Fitch has cut its rating on China’s long-term local currency sovereign debt, citing potential risks from rapid growth in credit and local government debt loads. The rating was cut from AA minus to A plus.
Back in North America, the Fed surprised investors when it released its March 19-20 policy meeting minutes early this morning.
Traders seemed unfazed by comments suggesting that officials remained divided over how long the Fed should keep up its bond-buying program known as quantitative easing, with some suggesting it be slowed as early as this summer.
The Fed released the minutes early after discovering that some copies had been sent by mistake to some Congressional staff and trade groups on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama will submit his proposed 2014 budget to Congress today.
In Toronto, as of around 12:30 p.m. ET, the S&P/TSX Composite was up 51.30 points, or 0.41%, to 12,535.35, while the more junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite fell 9.83 points, or 0.93%, to 1,044.94.
In commodities markets, gold futures tumbled after Goldman Sachs slashed its forecast for this year and next, with the yellow metal for June delivery lately declining $17.90 to $1,568.80 an ounce, while silver futures shed 33 cents to $27.55 an ounce. The base metal copper contract was lately down 3 cents at $3.41 a pound.
Crude oil futures fell Wednesday, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a climb in crude supplies that was less than the market expected. Crude supplies rose 300,000 barrels for the week ended April 5, lower than the 1.4 million-barrel rise Platts’ analysts expected. The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday a 5.1 million barrel rise in crude supplies.
Crude oil for May delivery was down 36 cents at $93.84 a barrel.
Toronto's main sectors were mostly higher, with only materials, metals and mining and info tech lately in the red.
Gold giants in Toronto fell alongside the depressed price of the yellow metal, with Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) slumping 6.3% after a Chilean court suspended construction of the company's massive Pascua-Lama gold project on environment grounds.
According to a MarketWatch report, a spokesman from Barrick declined to comment on the court order, saying the company had yet to review it.
Elsewhere, Kinross Gold (TSE:K) and Goldcorp (TSE:G) fell 3.79% and 2.37%, respectively.
Materials were down over 2% Wednesday, with decliners led by Alacer Gold Corp. (TSE:ASR) – down 6.75% even as it announced that a special dividend from the sale of its 49% interest in the Frog’s Lake mine in Australia will be paid at the end of the month. Premier Gold Mines (TSE:PG) also slumped 5.58%.
Advances in the sector were seen in Mercator Minerals (TSE:ML) – up about 3% after it said that recent changes to the grinding circuit have resulted in sustained throughput increases of approximately 20% to average 54,700 tonnes per day (tpd) at its wholly-owned Mineral Park mine.
Elsewhere, North American Palladium (TSE:PAL) rose 2.99% and OceanaGold (TSE:OG) added 1.5% after it yesterday announced that its first shipment of roughly 5,000 dry tonnes of copper-gold concentrate was en route to Hibi, Japan.
In metals and mining news, Caledonia Mining (LON:CMCL, TSE:CAL) has posted a 14% increase in quarterly gold production from its Blanket mine in Zimbabwe.
Timmins Gold Corp. (TSE:TMM)(NYSE MKT:TGD), in a preliminary report, posted a near 32% increase in gold production for its first quarter, hitting record levels.
Shares of Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSE:WDO) rallied Wednesday, after the company released preliminary first-quarter production and sales results, and said that it expects to meet or exceed its full-year guidance of 55,000 gold ounces.
The energy sector also moved higher Wednesday, with advances led by NuVista Energy (TSE:NVA) – up 4.14% -while Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSE:ATH) and Arc Resources (TSE:ARX) both added over 3%.
Declines in the sector were seen in Legacy Oil Plus Gas (TSE:LEG), PetroBakken Energy (TSE:PBN) and oilfield services company Mullen Group (TSE:MTL) – down 2.01%, 1.69% and 1.65%, respectively.
In other energy news, Caza Oil & Gas (LON:CAZA) (TSE:CAZ) has drawn down £500,000 of its £6mln standby equity distribution agreement with YA Global Master SPV.
Financials were sharply higher Wednesday, led by insurer Manulife Financial (TSE:MFC) and Canada's largest bank by assets Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) – advancing 2.73% and 1.88%, respectively.
Elsewhere in the sector, insurer Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF) rose 1.06%, while Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNK) rose 1.69%.
In other corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (TSE:VRX) added 0.74% after it settled a patent lawsuit between its Medicis subsidiary and generic giant Actavis Inc. (NYSE:ACT). The lawsuit was related to Actavis’ version of two Medicis products — Ziana, an acne topical antibiotic, and Zyclara, a prescription drug for premalignant skin problems.
Valeant will receive a share of the proceeds from generic versions of products.
Bombardier (TSE:BBD.B) shares gained Wednesday after the company announced that Porter Airlines signed a deal for 12 of its CS100 airliners, with options for an additional 18 for a value of up to $2.08 billion.
*U.S./Europe*
U.S. stocks were posting solid gains Wednesday, as traders cheered China import data and shrugged off the division between Fed officials on monetary stimulus measures after the release of its latest policy meeting.
The Dow was lately up 128.32 points at 14,802.17, the Nasdaq added 55.13 points to 3,292.99, and the S&P 500 was higher by 17.31 points at 1,585.92.
In earnings news today, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter net income, despite sales rising 11% to $696 million. Its stock gained 0.68% as adjusted profit topped analyst expectations.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) said Wednesday that its fiscal second-quarter net income rose, as more customers came in to its stores and spent more, with the company also benefitting from an extra week in the latest period. The retailer, however, lowered its full year view, citing continued pressure on discretionary sales due to cash strapped customers and cold spring weather. Shares gained 1% this afternoon.
Fastenal Co. (NASDAQ:FAST) shares shed over 3% after the wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies reported a higher first quarter profit, but cautioned that economic activity of its customers slowed.
Elsewhere, shares of First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) dropped more than 5% after gaining sharply on Tuesday, by 45%, following its full year guidance that well topped analyst estimates.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE:THC) shares fell 4.57% Wednesday as shares were downgraded to a hold rating from buy by Deutsche Bank.
Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) shares dropped 0.89% on Wednesday, following a decline in the previous session as KPMG resigned as the company's auditor in the wake of an insider trading scandal at the accounting firm.
In media reports, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are discussing how to add more content from Yahoo News to Apple's iPhones and iPads, though a deal is reportedly not expected soon. Shares of Yahoo lately gained 1.76%.
European markets closed sharply higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX was up 2.27% while France's CAC 40 rose 1.99% and Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.17%. Reported by Proactive Investors 1 hour ago.