A.M. Market numbers: Wednesday, July 22, 2009

By Staff | July 22, 2009 | Last updated on July 22, 2009
3 min read
| North American markets | International markets | Bonds | Currency | Commodities |

The Toronto stock market could be in for a negative showing at the open Wednesday amid lower oil prices and deteriorating earnings in the energy industry.

The TSX edged 25 points lower Tuesday, breaking a six-session winning streak that sent the main index up almost 800 points in the wake of positive second quarter earnings reports and outlooks.

Suncor Inc. (TSX:SU) was the first of the major Canadian energy companies to report results. The Calgary-based company logged a second quarter net loss of $51 million, or six-cents per common share, sharply down from net earnings of $829 million in the second quarter of 2008, or 89-cents per share.

Suncor blames the loss on lower oil prices compared to a year ago – when crude futures stood at about US$131 a barrel – while operating expenses were higher at oil sands due to increased production and sales.

Oil prices were slightly lower Wednesday as the September crude contract backed off 76 cents to US$64.85 a barrel.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Suncor and Petro-Canada (TSX:PCA) agreed to sell 104 gasoline stations in southern Ontario as well as other assets to get regulatory approval for their merger into Canada’s largest oil producer.

Also, Precision Drilling Trust (TSX:PD.UN) reported second-quarter profit of $57 million or 22 cents per unit, more than doubling year-earlier net income of $22 million or 16 cents per unit. The trust said its Grey Wolf acquisition helped boost revenue by 51% to $210 million.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 of a cent to 90.45 cents US.

New York futures pointed to a mainly lower start as investors sift through the latest batch of corporate earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrials futures were down 54 points to 8,832, S&P 500 futures dipped 5.8 points to 947.6 and the Nasdaq futures added a point to 8,915.

Tech shares are likely to be in focus after Yahoo Inc. and Apple Inc. posted better-than-expected profits late Tuesday.

Yahoo’s earnings rose 8% _ the company’s first quarterly earnings improvement since the beginning of 2008. However, sales slid 13%.

Apple, meanwhile, surpassed Wall Street’s expectations in both profit and revenue on robust sales of laptops and iPhones.

On Wednesday, Boeing Co. said its second-quarter earnings rose 17% from a year earlier to US$998 million or US$1.41 a share, beating expectations. Boeing met revenue expectations of US$17.15 billion.

And banking company Wells Fargo & Co. said its second-quarter net income rose 81% from a year ago to US$3.17 billion, or 57 cents a share, beating expectations of 34 cent. Revenue climbed 28% to US$22.5 billion, beating expectations of US$20.49 billion.

In other corporate news, Industry Minister Tony Clement says that Ottawa will not intervene in a dispute between insolvent Nortel Networks and Canadian technology giant Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) over the bidding process for Nortel’s prized wireless division.

RIM said Monday that it has been prevented from making an offer for the wireless division and asked Ottawa to review the bidding process.

The August billion contract on the Nymex was down 60 cents to US$946.30 an ounce while September copper in New York was unchanged at US$2.451 a pound.

Overseas, Asian stocks rose modestly Wednesday after more U.S. companies posted stronger earnings and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the world’s largest economy was on pace to recover this year.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.3%.

European indexes were in the red as London’s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.17 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX was off 0.27% while the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.88%.

(The Canadian Press)

North American markets Back to Top
Close Change YTD
Dow Jones 8,915.94 +67.79 or +0.77% +1.59%
S&P 500 954.58 +3.45 or +0.36% +5.68%
NASDAQ 1,916.20 +6.91 or +0.36% +21.51%
TSX Composite 10,515.32 -25.39 or -0.24% +17.00%

International markets Back to Top
Open Change YTD
Nikkei 9,723.16 +71.14 or +0.74% +9.75%
Hang Seng 19,248.17 -253.56 or -1.30% +33.78%
SENSEX 14,843.12 -219.37 or -1.46% +53.86%
FTSE 100 4,464.67 -16.50 or -0.37% +0.69%
CAC 40 3,273.58 -29.31 or -0.89% +1.73%
DAX 5,065.87 -28.10 or -0.55% +5.32%

Bonds Back to Top
Bonds $Current $Previous %Yield
Cdn. 10-year bond 102.90 102.73 3.40
Cdn. 30-year bond 117.45 117.52 3.96
U.S. 10-year bond 97.03 96.00 3.48
U.S. 30-year bond 97.67 95.75 4.39

Currency Back to Top
BoC Open Today Previous
Canadian $ 0.9045 0.9033
US $ 1.1055 1.1071

Euro Spot Rate Today Previous
Canadian $ 0.6383 0.6361
Euro 1.5666 1.5720

Commodities Back to Top
Gold AM PM
London Gold Fix ($US) $ 945.50 $947.75

Oil Open Change
WTI Crude Future (US) $64.70 -$0.910 or -1.39%

(07/22/09)

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.