Stocks continue to languish Thursday in midday North American trading, as investors nervously await Friday's pivotal jobs data while a dip in commodity prices fuels selling in the resource-heavy Canadian market.
Shortly after noon ET, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 77 points at 11,868. The broadly based U.S. indexes were holding steady, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 1 point at 10,575 and the S&P 500 flat at 1,137, while the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index lost 10 points to 2,291.
Before the markets opened, the weekly U.S. new jobless claims report helped set the tone for the session by adding to the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. labour market. Claims totaled 434,000, which was roughly in line with expectations but a slight increase from the previous week - a concerning direction, especially coming just a day ahead of the December employment reports in the U.S. and Canada.
The monthly jobs numbers, especially out of the U.S., have become a focal point for the markets, as a labour-market recovery is considered the key to a sustainable economic recovery in 2010. The tepid jobless-claims figures, together with some mixed indicators on the jobs front hitting the market earlier in the week, have injected a note of caution into the market.
But investors did get a bit of good news from the retail sector, as the big U.S. chain-store operators released their December sales results. The International Council of Shopping Centers said December sales were up 2.8 per cent from a year earlier, and several big names - including Costco, Sears and Target - reported solid gains in holiday-season sales. Target said it now expects to "meet or exceed" its fourth-quarter earnings guidance.
A pullback in commodity prices, meanwhile, has provided a signal for investors to take a break from the Canadian market, as stocks are down across the board. All 10 of the S&P/TSX industry sub-indexes are down on the day, led by the heavily weighted energy group, off 0.9 per cent.
Crude oil is down 36 cents (U.S.) at $82.82 a barrel in New York. Gold is down $5.20 at $1,131.30 an ounce.
Overseas, European markets finished flat. London's FTSE 100 index closed down 0.1 per cent.
The Canadian dollar is off a quarter of a penny at 96.61 cents (U.S.).