Canada’s main stock index fell for a second day since breaching a new high as Bombardier Inc.’s weakened outlook weighed on the key industrials sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 10.42 points at 16,576.10 as shares of Bombardier lost 15.1% on heavy trading.
The Montreal-based transportation company warned Thursday that its full-year revenues will be about US$1 billion lower than originally anticipated, mainly due to ongoing production problems at its train-making unit.
Seven of the market’s 11 major sectors were up slightly, but were offset by losses in consumer discretionary along with influential materials and energy sectors and real estate.
“It’s just sort of a flattish day, even the ones that are down aren’t down a ton,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US74.11¢ compared with an average of US74.21¢ on Wednesday.
The loonie fell again to its lowest level since early January after the Bank of Canada released a more dovish outlook and dropped any mention of future rate hikes.
The June crude contract was down US68¢ at US$65.21 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up US4.8¢ at US$2.55 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was up US30¢ at US$1,279.70 an ounce and the May copper contract was down US4.85¢ at US$2.86 a pound.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 134.97 points at 26,462.08. The S&P 500 index was down 1.08 points at 2,926.17, while the Nasdaq composite was up 16.67 points at 8,118.68.
Nasdaq rose on solid tech sector results, including from Microsoft and Facebook.
But the Dow fell on weak results from companies including UPS and 3M. The Scotch tape maker’s shares plummeted nearly 13% after quarterly earnings missed expectations, slashed its 2019 outlook and announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide.
“Certainly what’s come out between last night and today is generally been on the more negative side,” he said in an interview.
First-quarter results up until Thursday have generally been better than the pessimistic forecasts of analysts.
Markets focused on earnings Thursday in light of little macroeconomic news. That could change Friday with the reporting of U.S. GDP numbers that will provide a picture of the overall health of the U.S. economy, followed next week by PMI data that is an indicator of economic growth in China.
“Investors are getting more positive about the Chinese economy but is that going to continue?” Chopra wondered.