Toronto stock market heads for lower open as U.S. jobs data disappoints

TORONTO – The Toronto stock market headed for a lower open Friday amid a disappointing reading on U.S. job creation last month.

The U.S. Labour Department reported that the economy created 162,000 jobs during July, less than the 183,000 that markets had expected. However, the jobless rate ticked down to 7.4 per cent from 7.6 per cent.

The Canadian dollar was off the worst levels of the morning, down 0.19 of a cent to 96.45 cents US. The greenback weakened somewhat as the jobs data raised questions about when the Federal Reserve can let up on a key stimulus measure, its monthly US$85 billion of bond purchases.

U.S. were largely little changed as the data also showed sharp revisions to the previous two months, as the Labor Department said 26,000 fewer jobs were created.

The Dow Jones industrial futures were ahead two points to 15,552, the Nasdaq futures rose 10 points to 3,122.8 and the S&P 500 futures gained 0.75 of a point to 1,701.

Traders have come to expect that the Fed would start to taper its bond purchases starting in September. But the Fed has been consistent in saying that such a cut in purchases would only take place if the economy showed sufficient strength.

Canadian employment data for July is released Aug. 9.

Commodities were mainly lower as the September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down 60 cents to US$107.29 a barrel.

September copper rose for a third day, ahead two cents to US$3.19 a pound. And December gold was also off the lowest levels of the morning, down $2.10 to US$1,309.10 an ounce.

In corporate news, Atlantic Canada telecom Bell Aliant Inc. (TSX:BA) is reporting net earnings of $67 million for the second quarter, or 29 cents per share. That’s down $8 million, or four cents per share, from the same period last year. Earnings ex-items were 39 cents, down two cents from a year ago.

Eldorado Gold Corp. (TSX:ELD) says it’s reducing its 2013 spending plans by about US$288 million in light of lower gold prices. The company also reported Friday that its second-quarter profit attributable to shareholders was $43.3 million or six cents per share, down from $46.6 million or seven cents per share a year earlier and below analyst estimates.<

Analysts had estimated eight cents per share of adjusted earnings and nine cents per share of net income, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSX:FFH) on Thursday reported a net loss of US$157.8 million in the second quarter, attributed to losses it booked with its bond portfolio. The property and casualty insurance company said the loss amounted to $8.55 per diluted share, compared with a profit of $93.7 million, or $3.79 a share. Revenue dropped to $1.35 billion in the second quarter from $1.74 billion.

National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA) said Thursday it has entered into an agreement to buy TD Waterhouse Institutional Services (TSX:TD) for $250 million. The firm provides back-office and support for portfolio managers and brokers across the country

Toyota Motor Corp. said profit for the April-June quarter nearly doubled from a year ago to 562.1 billion yen (US$5.6 billion) after getting a big boost from a weak yen. The company also set a worldwide production goal for the 2013 calendar year at 10.1 million vehicles, which would be an industry record. The company also raised its full-year earnings forecast to 1.48 trillion yen ($14.8 billion), up nearly 54 per cent from the previous year. Quarterly sales jumped 14 per cent to 6.25 trillion yen ($62.6 billion).

The Toronto market looked set to end the week with a small gain following the release of a slew of earnings from corporate Canada, particularly from the resource sector. The materials sector was the biggest drag after fertilizer producers PotashCorp of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT) and Agrium (TSX:AGU) racked up huge losses after Russian producer Uralkali opted to break up a powerful cartel. The move raised concerns that potash prices could fall by around 25 per cent.

In Asia, markets ended higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged 3.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5 per cent while in mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose less than 0.1 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.1 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1 per cent.

European bourses were mixed as London’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.23 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.11 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 was flat.