Tuesday, May 16, 2006, 4:15 PM EST (Thomson Financial Corporate
Services): Canadian stocks were little changed on the day, after losing
more than 200 points to commodities yesterday and almost another 90 points
this morning. Gold continued to fall alongside steep declines in tech
stocks. Financial and metals and mining shares firmed. In the U.S., stocks
slipped after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot reported earnings, and
investors sought clues to the prospects for interest rates and inflation
* The S&P/TSX Stock Exchange Composite Index slipped 2.31 points, or
0.02%.
* Technology issues suffered steep losses today, as Cognos Inc. and
Nortel Networks Corp. led the sector lower. Cognos said yesterday it
delayed filing its annual report for the fiscal year ended Feb. 28 amid a
review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on how the company
reports revenue. Meanwhile, Nortel, Canada's largest
telecommunications-equipment maker, said it expects its first-quarter loss
to widen and revenue to be "flat to down slightly."
* Crude-oil futures improved although there has been speculation that
it may be time for a correction. Meanwhile, light, sweet crude for June
delivery rose US $1.04 to US $70.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
* Despite a rise in the yellow metal, the gold sector remained in the
red. Goldcorp Inc. announced last night that its first-quarter profit
tripled to US $92.4 million from US $29.5 million in the year-ago period.
Earnings per share arrived at US $0.27 from US $0.12 last year, as gold
production increased to 295,100 ounces from 275,400 ounces in 2005.
* Turning to brokerage reports, CIBC upgraded Algoma Steel to "sector
outperform" from "sector perform," and raised its price target to C $43
from C $37.50. Algoma advanced on the session.
* In the U.S., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said
profit rose 6.3% in the first quarter, beating analysts' expectations. The
company said that new merchandise helped it post better-than-expected
first- quarter profit. But the world's largest retailer said more expensive
gasoline, utilities and higher interest rates could affect second-quarter
income. Elsewhere, the Home Depot Inc. reported a 19% jump in first-quarter
profit on a double-digit increase in sales.
* On the U.S. economic front, the producer price index rose 0.9% in
April, basically in line with analyst expectations. The core index edged up
0.1% last month. Separately, construction of new U.S. houses declined for
the third straight month in April, the government reported. Starts fell
7.4% in April to a seasonally adjusted 1.85 million annualized units,
marking the biggest drop in more than a year. The decline in housing starts
in April was larger than expected.
-- Michael.O'Brien@contractor.Thomson.com; Thomson Financial Corporate
Services
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Canadian Commentary, which
is updated twice daily. The information herein is believed to be true and
accurate, we take no responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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