DAILY WRAP-UP
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A poor jobs report and jitters over North Korea's startling retreat from
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty did not prevent the markets from eking
out a positive close.
In a choppy session, stocks recovered early losses stemming from the
disappointing jobs data, advanced with strength and then lost that upside
momentum. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq exchanges finished with a gain for
the day and the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 8.77 points or 0.1% to 8,784.95. The
Nasdaq composite put on 9.29 points or 0.65% to 1,447.75. The broader S&P
500 finished even at 927.57. Volume on the NYSE totaled 1.476 billion
shares. At the Nasdaq 1.653 billion shares exchanged hands.
Another 101,000 workers lost jobs in December, according to the Labor
Department. While the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6%, economists had
predicted a slight increase of 32,000 jobs. Investors did shake off the
impetus to sell, as the employment data is merely a lagging indicator.
Lucent (NYSE: LU) was the most-actively traded stock on the Big Board
today, rising 3.03% to $1.70 on positive comments about telecom equipment
makers.
Ford (NYSE: F) said its earnings for 2003 would far surpass analysts'
estimations. The number two U.S. automaker said it expected to report
earnings of $0.70 per share for the full year. The consensus estimate was
for the company to earn $0.46 a share in 2003. At the same time, Ford
admitted its global pension fund was under funded by $14.5 billion. Ford
shares rose 2.46% to $10.34.
FleetBoston Financial (NYSE: FBF) said it was increasing its loan loss
provision in the fourth quarter to $800 million due to its exposure to
Argentina as well as the troubled airline and merchant energy sectors. The
bank was off 0.36% to $27.40.
Schering Plough (NSYE: SGP) slashed its fourth quart and 2002 profit
forecast due to slumping sales of its allergy medication, Claritin. The
drug maker now expects to post Q4 earnings in the range of $0.27 to $0.29
and 2002 profits of $1.40 to $1.42 per share. The Street had been calling
for an EPS figure of $0.44 in the fourth quarter and $1.57 a share for the
full year. The company's shares edged 0.43% lower to $22.96.
Tech stocks continued to show strength in the networking and semiconductor
sectors. The largest global semiconductor maker Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) added
1.64% to $17.34. Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), which makes equipment
for the chip sector, piled on a gain of 4.42% to $15.71.
Optical networking firm Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN) steamed ahead 11.21% to $7.34.
Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN), which specializes in digital subscriber networks,
jumped 3.36% to $39.12.
In earnings news, State Street (NYSE: STT) reported fourth quarter earnings
of $477 million or $1.46 per share. That figure included a one-time gain on
the sale of its corporate trust unit. Excluding that gain, the investment
services company posted earnings of $0.56 a share, in line with Street
expectations. The stock added 0.1% to $40.23.
Homestore.com (NASDAQ: HOMS) rocketed 40.43% to $1.32 after announcing that
it had settled its distribution dispute with AOL Time Warner (NYSE: AOL).
Meantime, AOL's shares were up 3.84% to $14.88 on rumors the company is
mulling a cost cutting scheme.
In small cap trading, the Russell 2000 added 0.5 points or 0.13% to 396.44,
while the S&P600 index advanced 0.35 points or 0.17% to 201.32.
Some of the small cap stocks making big moves included Mirant Energy (NYSE:
MIR). The power supplier stumbled 12.41% to $2.40 on volume of 28,373,00
after announcing further plans to shed assets. The company said that 2003
would be another difficult year, as it revealed plans to slash its capital
expenditures to $570 million from $1.8 billion last year.
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (NYSE: GAP) shed 11.72% to $6.40
on volume of 985,500. The grocery operator reported an ongoing operating
loss of $1.06 per share for its third quarter. Including items, the A&P
said it lost $29.7 million or $0.77 per share, while the consensus estimate
was looking for a loss of $0.42 a share.
In commodities trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude
oil futures reversed $0.31 to $31.68, February natural gas traded lower by
$0.16 to $5.143. February gold futures shone with a $1.20 gain to $354.90.
Canadian markets drifted in moderately positive territory throughout the
session. Canadian investors had better news than their U.S. counterparts on
the employment front, but no news to spark a substantial rally. Big gains
in tech and metals issues bolstered the benchmark stock average, while
falling oil prices hobbled energy stocks.
The TSX composite climbed 29.59 points or 0.44% to 6,801.77, and the small
cap Venture index rallied 6.35 points or 0.57% to 1,119.22.
Telecom equipment makers were up today on positive commentary from UBS
Warburg and Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH). The investment bank was "neutral"
on the sector, instead of "negative," based on the presumption that
fundamentals have stopped deteriorating. Nortel Networks (TSX: T.NT)
rocketed 10.21% to $3.67.
Celestica (TSX: T.CLS) retreated 1% to $26.78 after a downgrade issued by
UBS Warburg from "hold" to "reduce." The brokerage said Celestica's
reliance upon high-end telecom and server markets would cause it to under
perform peers.
Cognos (TSX: T.CSN) shares were downgraded to "hold" from "buy" by UBS
Warburg Friday. The brokerage cited concerns about the recent rapid
appreciation of the business software maker's share price, but maintained
an upbeat perspective on the business intelligence sector and Cognos'
position within the group. The Ottawa-based firm fell 2.49% to $39.15.
Financial stocks supported gains on the broader index. Sun Life Financial
(TSX: T.SLF) climbed 3.14% to $29.60. Bank of Montreal (TSX: T.BMO)
announced Friday that it was lowering the cost of borrowing to buy a house.
The lender's shares were up 0.33% to $42.05. The moves follow similar rate
reductions by Royal Bank (TSX: T.RY) and Toronto Dominion Bank (TSX: T.TD)
earlier in the week, as bond market declines have reduced financing costs.
Gold stocks attracted buyers. Kinross Gold (TSX: T.K) soared 4.97% to $3.80
and Glamis Gold (TSX: T.GLG) put on 2.34% to $18.39.
In corporate news, SNC Lavalin (TSX: T.SNC) announced a contract win in
Algeria. The engineering and construction firm was selected to build a $96
million water collection and treatment facility for the city of Skikda,
which is 400 kilometres east of Algiers. Shares of the Montreal-based firm
advanced 0.99% to $34.72.
Plane and train maker Bombardier (TSX: T.BBD.B) announced a $212 million
contract to build train cars and locomotives for the Local Transport
Authority of Lower Saxony in Germany. Bombardier Transportation is slated
to supply 40 double-deck railway coaches and eight locomotives, and 15
years of maintenance work. The Montreal firm's shares were up 3.46% to $6.28.
John Forzani said Friday he is leaving the position of chief executive at
his sporting goods firm. Bill Sauter, the company's current chief financial
officer, will take on the CEO duties at the Forzani Group (TSX: T.FGL).
Bill Gregson was appointed president and chief operating officer. The
company's shares gave back 0.26% to $19.10.
Statistics Canada said that the unemployment rate was unchanged in December
at 7.5%, even as the economy added 58,000 new positions. Many more people
entered the booming work force seeking some of that new work.
The Canadian dollar was worth US$0.6470. |
