Erasing early trading gains, Canadian stocks dipped into the red Tuesday morning after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered few details on additional monetary support to the U.S. economy.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada today left its key rates unchanged at one percent, as widely expected, and noted that global headwinds are restraining Canadian economic activity, while domestic factors are expected to support moderate growth in Canada. The Bank expects the economy to grow at a pace roughly in line with its production potential in the near term, before picking up through 2013.
In corporate news from the U.S., Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) said that its second-quarter net earnings decreased to $927 million, from $1.05 billion in the same quarter last year. Earnings per common share were $1.78 compared with $1.85 for the second quarter of 2011. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $1.17 per share for the quarter.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 37.83 points or 0.33 percent to 11,483.35, after adding nearly 100 points or 1 percent in the past two sessions.
Aerospace and industrial equipment maker Héroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX.TO) skyrocketed 35 percent after it said it would be selling substantially all of its Aerostructure and Industrial Products operations to Precision Castparts Corp. (PCP) for C$300 million in cash.
The price of crude oil was ticking lower, with Crude for August losing $0.55 to $87.88 a barrel.
In the oil patch, Vermilion Energy (VET.TO), ARC Resources (ARX.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) moved up around 1 percent each.
On the other hand, Bonterra Energy (BNE.TO) and Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE.TO) were down around 4 percent each.
Meanwhile gold stocks were moving lower amid a fall in bullion prices. Gold for August lost up $19.50 to $1,572.10 an ounce.
AuRico Gold (AUQ.TO) dived over 16 percent, while Detour Gold (DGC.TO) was losing over 4 percent. Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) and Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) were down around 2 percent each.
Biological product company Neptune Technologies & Bioressources (NTB.TO) lost 2 percent after reporting a wider first quarter net loss of $1.7 million compared to the net loss of $1.3 million in the year ago quarter.
In economic news Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales declined 0.4 percent to $48.7 billion in May, mainly due to a 9.6 percent dip in petroleum and coal product industry, reflecting temporary shutdowns at some refineries. Excluding the petroleum and coal product industry, total manufacturing sales rose 1.2 percent.
From the U.S., the Labor Department said its consumer price index came in unchanged in June following a 0.3 percent drop in May. The flat reading on consumer prices came in line with economist estimates. Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in June. The modest increase matched the core price growth seen in the three previous months and came in line with expectations.
From the euro zone, a measure of German investor sentiment declined for the third month in a row in July, results of a survey revealed. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment dropped to minus 19.6 points from minus 16.9 in June. That was slightly better than economists' forecast for a score of minus 20.
Meanwhile, U.K.'s annual consumer price inflation eased for a third straight month in June to the lowest level since November 2009, helped by falling fuel prices and heavy discounting to boost sales, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
by RTT Staff Writer
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