A man walks past a building in Toronto that used to house the Toronto Stock Exchange on August 18 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
April 24, 2014 - 5:30 AM
TORONTO - The Toronto stock market looked to start the Thursday session slightly higher amid another heavy slate of earnings news in Canada and the U.S.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.09 of a cent to 90.74 cents US.
U.S. futures advanced with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead 39 points to 16,499 amid well-received earnings reports from General Motors and Caterpillar, the Nasdaq jumped 50.5 points to 3,605 as Facebook and Apple blew past expectations while the S&P 500 index gained 7.5 points to 1,880.5.
In Canada, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (TSX:POT) (NYSE:POT) posted quarterly net income of US$340 million or 40 cents a share, compared to 63 cents per share, or US$556 million, in the same period last year. The company’s guidance was for between 30 and 35 cents per share and its shares ran up 1.8 per cent in pre-market trading.
General Motors says first-quarter profit fell 86 per cent to $125 million or six cents a share as a series of recalls dragged down its earnings. It was GM's worst quarterly performance since it posted a net loss after leaving bankruptcy protection in 2009. Excluding one-time items, GM made 29 cents per share, far above analyst estimates of three cents per share and GM shares were up 1.77 per cent in pre-market trading.
Caterpillar’s first-quarter earnings climbed five per cent to $922 million, or $1.44 per share. Earnings totaled $1.61 per share, excluding restructuring costs. Total revenue was nearly flat at $13.24 billion. Analysts forecast earnings of $1.21 per share on $13.09 billion in revenue. Caterpillar shares are up nearly four per cent in pre-market trading.
After the close Wednesday, Facebook posted earnings ex-items of 34 cents a share versus the 24 cents that analysts expected. Revenue of $2.5 billion beat estimates of $2.36. The stock climbed 5.2 per cent in pre-market trading.
Shares in Apple Inc. jumped 8.5 per cent in pre-market trading after the company announced Wednesday that it was increasing its dividend by eight per cent to $3.29 per share and that it will buy back an additional US$30 billion of its stock — now US$90 in total — in a move to funnel more money to shareholders. Quarterly earnings rose seven per cent to $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per share, while revenue climbed by five per cent to $45.6 billion.
Commodity prices were mixed with June crude in New York up 30 cents to US$101.74 a barrel.
May copper ran up four cents to US$3.10 a pound while June bullion moved down $13.20 to US$1,271.40 an ounce.
The Globe and Mail reported that Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) has formally asked Newmont Mining Corp. to resume merger talks after their negotiations hit an impasse late last week. Other sources have said the North American-based gold miners had come close to agreeing on an all-stock deal, but their discussions broke down over which assets to spin out from the combined company.
European markets also advanced with London’s FTSE 100 index ahead 0.61 per cent while Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.34 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.83 per cent.
Shares in French train and equipment manufacturer Alstom spiked more than 12 per cent on reports that General Electric Co. is considering making a bid for the company. Alstom said that it has not been “informed of any potential public tender offer for shares of the company.”
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014