(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca) Canada's main stock index fell on Thursday, hurt by a drop in Bombardier 's shares following a weak full-year outlook and as the Bank of Canada lowered its growth forecast for 2019.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index remained negative 9.45 points to approach noon EDT Thursday at 16,577.07
The Canadian dollar lopped off 0.01 cents at 74.11 cents U.S.
Bombardier fell 49 cents, or 16.6%, to $2.43 after cutting its full-year profit and revenue forecast as delays in some large projects hit its dominant transportation unit that makes rail cars.
Shares of Celestica were down $1.85, or 15.9%, to $9.76 after reporting quarterly earnings.
The top percentage gainers on the TSX were Ivanhoe Mines, which jumped 42 cents, or 13.6%, to $3.50, though Precision Drilling, ditched three cents to $3.76, after spending most of the morning in the green, and after reporting quarterly results.
On the economic board, Statistics Canada says average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,007 in February, little changed from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings grew by 1.1%.
Moreover, the Bank of Canada cut its growth forecast for the year, due to a slowdown in Canada's oil sector, the negative impact of global trade policies and a weaker-than-expected housing sector.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 0.12 points to 608.36
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups remained lower by noon hour, as consumer discretionary and information technology each slumped 0.5%, while health-care stocks fell 0.4 %
The four gainers were led by energy, up 0.4%, consumer staples, climbing 0.3%, and financials, inching ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped on Thursday as a sharp decline in 3M shares dragged the 30-stock index.
The Dow lost 106.23 points to 26,490.82, as shares of 3M dropped 11% after the company reported earnings that were much lower than analysts had expected. The company also slashed its full-year outlook and announced plans to cut 2,000 jobs worldwide.
3M shares were also on pace for their worst day since Oct. 19, 1987.
The S&P 500 regained 4.87 points to 2,932.12, though a 5.3% drop in Altria shares also weighed on the consumer staples sector.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 31.69 to 8,135.01, and hit an all-time high, getting a boost from strong quarterly reports out of Facebook and Microsoft.
Facebook shares rose more than 5% after its first-quarter numbers showed promising growth in Stories and ads.
The analyst also raised his price target on Facebook to $220 per share from $200.
Microsoft, meanwhile, climbed more than 3% as its better-than-expected earnings were driven by a 41% surge in its commercial cloud revenue business. That growth was led by Azure, which saw sales skyrocket by 73%.
More than 170 S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results so far. Of those companies, 78% have posted better-than-expected earnings.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were marginally down, raising yields to 2.53% from Wednesday's 2.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid seven cents to $65.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained 60 cents to $1,280.00 U.S. an ounce.
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