Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market was lower Thursday as another rise in U.S. jobless insurance claims data added to worries about a slowing economic revival, which in turn helped punish oil prices for a third day.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 58.61 points to 11,523.6 led by sliding financial and energy stocks, while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 12.31 points to 1,453.74.

The Canadian dollar reversed course to head higher, up 0.23 of a cent to 95.9 cents US.

The negative showing followed a big selloff on North American markets Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its assessment of the American economic recovery. Investors were also dismayed by data showing a slowdown in the Chinese economy in the second quarter.

Pessimism deepened Thursday after the U.S. Labour Department said that new applications for unemployment insurance rose last week to their highest level in almost six months, a sign that employers are still cutting workers.

Worries about deteriorating economic conditions pushed the TSX financial sector down 1.56% as TD Bank (TSX:TD) fell 90 cents to $70.82. Manulife Financial was down 62 cents or 4.62% at $12.79 in heavy trading. Its stock has plunged 20% since surprising investors with a $2.4-billion quarterly loss last week, followed by a downgrade by DBRS.

The TSX energy sector dropped 1.55% as oil prices moved lower. A stronger U.S. dollar helped push the September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down $2.28 to US$75.74 a barrel. Crude has fallen 7% this week. Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) lost 82 cents to C$33.89.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) shares were down 40 cents to $32.94 as it agreed to sell some natural gas assets to Direct Energy for approximately $375 million. The Wildcat Hills properties, near Cochrane, Alta., produce about 80 million cubic feet of natural gas and natural gas equivalent per day.

The base metals group was down 1.53%, with earlier losses trimmed by a rise in the September copper contract on the Nymex of three cents to US$3.28 a pound. Quadra FNX Mining (TSX:QUX) declined 55 cents to C$11 as the miner posted a US$21.7-million quarterly profit despite enduring the impact of some production problems. Results were helped by higher average copper prices, which contributed to lifting revenues to $169.1 million from $100.1 million.

Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) lost 66 cents to $33.95.

The TSX gold component limited losses, with stocks advancing as December gold gained $17.50 to US$1,216.70 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) advanced 77 cents to C$45.06 while Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) improved by $1.05 to $42.

Cisco Systems added to investors’ anxiety by reporting revenue figures that fell short of forecasts. After the market close Wednesday, investors took in news that Cisco Systems Inc.’s revenue from its latest quarter and its forecast for future revenue both fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company’s stock fell $2.38 5 or 9.99% to US$21.36 in New York.

“There was a four-week period from mid-June to mid-July where order books started to soften a bit and in conversations with customers, it was because of their lack of confidence in the certainty of the economic outlook,” said Steve Uzielli, portfolio manager at ScotiaMcLeod.

“Cisco is a bellwether which talks to the top global companies, so it has a pretty good sense of what corporations around the world are seeing. So that just compounds the problem.”

Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) was a major weight on the TSX, down $2.34 or almost 4% to $56.44 after the Indian government said it will shut down BlackBerry email and instant messaging services by Aug. 31 if RIM does not address India’s security concerns.

Several countries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have all expressed concerns about not having access to BlackBerry users’ data.

New York markets also added to losses as the Dow Jones industrials closed down 58.88 points to 10,319.95.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 18.36 points to 2,190.27 while the S&P 500 index was 5.86 points lower to 1,083.61.

On the earnings front, Tim Hortons Inc. (TSX:THI) shares rose $2.19 or 6.18% to $37.63 as the coffee chain reported second-quarter profits rose 21% to $94.1 million. Revenues increased 5.7% to $639.9 million. The company also said it will sell its 50% interest in Maidstone Bakeries to its joint venture partner for $475 million.

Canadian Tire Corp. (TSX:CTC.A) reported that second-quarter net earnings rose 15.6% to $119.9 million from $103.7 million. Operating revenue improved slightly, rising 3.8% to $2.41 billion. Total retail sales in the second quarter increased 1.3% and same store sales were up 0.8%. Canadian Tire shares were down 94 cents to $54.79.

Loyalty rewards program Groupe Aeroplan Inc. (TSX:AER) says its second-quarter profit dropped 48% due in part to the impact of one-time charges relating to its Italian business. Without those charges, adjusted net earnings were $60.9 million or 29 cents per share, up from $52.3 million or 26 cents per share in the comparable period last year and its shares jumped 89 cents or 9.34% to $10.42.

And General Motors Co. said Thursday it made US$1.33 billion in the second quarter, a sign of growing strength as the company prepares to sell stock to the public. It is GM’s second straight quarterly profit. The company made $865 million in the first quarter. No date has been set for the stock sale.