Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market headed for a lower open Thursday as commodity prices backed off slightly from solid gains on Thursday that followed bullish manufacturing data in China and the United States.

The financials sector could feel some pressure after TD Bank (TSX:TD) delivered quarter earnings that narrowly missed expectations.

TD said its profits grew 29% in the third quarter to $1.18 billion thanks to lower loan losses and strong earnings in its domestic retail business. However, on an adjusted basis, earnings per share were $1.43, falling a penny short of analyst expectations according to Thomson Reuters.


The Canadian dollar was up 0.15 of a cent to 95.21 cents US.

U.S. futures indicated a lower open as investors prepare for key readings on the jobs market over the next two days. Retailers are also reporting monthly sales figures Thursday, while data on factory orders and pending home sales are also scheduled to be released.

The Dow Jones industrial futures dipped two points to 10,270, the Nasdaq futures were ahead three points to 1,823 while the S&P 500 futures were off 0.3 of a point to 1,081.4.

Oil prices stepped back from a gain of almost US$2 in the previous session, dipping 64 cents to US$73.27 a barrel.

Oil traders brushed off another big rise in crude inventories last week reported by the Energy Department on Wednesday. Some analysts say the increase in inventories reflects overproduction by U.S. refineries rather than weak demand.

The December gold contract on the Nymex was up $1.40 to US$1,249.50 an ounce.

The December copper contract was unchanged at US$3.49 after running up over 3% on Wednesday.

Investors are looking ahead to the major economic report of the week — the release of the U.S. government’s non-farm payrolls report for August.

The market consensus is that around 90,000 U.S. jobs were lost in August, but that 30,000 were added if government census jobs that ended are taken out of the equation. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 9.5% or even rise to 9.6%.

North American markets racked up solid gains Wednesday after the U.S. Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index showed the sector expanding at a stronger than expected pace in August, rising to 56.3 from 55.5 in July.

Another report said that the pace of growth in China’s manufacturing sector also picked up in August instead of pulling back, as economists expected.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average gained 1.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.2%.

London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.02%, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.03% while the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 0.17%.

In other corporate news, Costco Wholesale Corp. said revenue at stores open at least a year increased 7% in August, lifted by higher gas prices and improved international revenue. This topped the 4.2% rise that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected, but fourth-quarter and full-year revenue missed Wall Street expectations.

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. (TSX:HW) (NYSE:HWD) says it earned US$16.5 million in its second quarter, reversing a year-ago loss as it enjoyed a significant jump in sales. The diamond miner and retailer said Wednesday that its profit amounted to 22 cents a share in the quarter ended July 31, compared to a loss of $24.5 million or 32 cents per share a year ago. Sales were up 62% to US$153.7 million and the company’s shares were up 16% in pre-market trading in New York.

Kinross Gold Corp. said it will aim to have a new mill at a key mine in Mauritania up and running by late 2013 if a proposed merger with Red Back Mining Inc. is approved. The Toronto-based gold miner said Wednesday it plans to begin an “extensive development program” at the Red Back’s Tasiast mine as soon as the merger closes.