June 24 (Reuters) - Toronto’s resource-heavy index looked set to open lower on Thursday as renewed doubts about the sustainability of a global recovery dented commodity prices.
With no economic data set for release, investors will also be closely watching for the quarterly results of Research in Motion RIM.TO, expected after the close of trading on Thursday.
RIM investors want to know one thing above all when the BlackBerry maker reports quarterly results: when will RIM’s long-promised iPhone killer finally hit the market? [ID:nN22121298]
Wall Street could also open lower ahead of data on weekly jobs and durable goods. [.N]
European shares fell for the third straight day, dragged by banks and miners, shrugging off hopes that the new Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard could compromise on a controversial mining tax.
Major Asian markets were down, however Nikkei ended slightly higher.
Here is some news that could affect stock prices:
Oil prices fell for a third day to around $76 a barrel on Thursday after a jump in U.S. crude oil inventories outweighed the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates near zero. [O/R]
Copper rallied on Thursday as investors took note of improved demand signals from Japan even as they remained concerned about signs that the recovery might slow in the United States. [MET/L]
Gold was broadly steady on Thursday, weighed slightly by traditional currency fundamentals as the dollar rose, but expectations for low interest rates and wider market jitters were keeping the metal’s uptrend intact. [GOL/]
The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pressured by weaker oil and global equities on concerns about economic growth after the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a pessimistic outlook. [CAD/]
The Guatemalan government said on Wednesday it would suspend operations at Goldcorp Inc’s (G.TO) (GG.N) Marlin mine due to allegations the facility was contaminating water supplies. [ID:nN23259957]
Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO) said on Wednesday it will sell Alberta natural gas properties to Abu Dhabi National Energy Co TAQA.AD for C$285 million ($274 million) as Canada’s biggest oil company culled more assets after its 2009 takeover of Petro-Canada. [ID:nN23252138]
Calmena Energy Services Inc CEZ.TO said on Wednesday a major international oilfield customer terminated its long-term agreement with the company. [ID:nWNAB0685]
MAGNA “HANDCUFFED” BOARD WITH SHARE PLAN-REGULATOR
Management at Magna International MGa.TO “handcuffed” company board members by not consulting them on a plan to pay founder Frank Stronach a huge premium to give up his controlling share block, Canada’s senior equities regulator argued on Wednesday. [ID:nN23207943]
Canadian oil and gas company Niko Resources Ltd’s (NKO.TO) on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit, driven mainly by ramp up of operations at one of its key gas projects in India. [ID:nSGE65N0EG]
Timmins Gold TMM.V said on Thursday it expects sales from its San Francisco open-pit gold mine in Mexico to almost triple by the end of the year from the expected 3,200 ounces in June. [ID:nSGE65N0F4]
Thallion Pharmaceuticals TLN.TO said on Thursday it agreed to pay the landlord of its corporate headquarters, Liberty Sites Ltd, C$2.4 million to end its long-term lease obligation six years before the end of the term. [ID:nSGE65N0FM]
Canadian intellectual property company Gennum Corp GND.TO on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit, helped by strong demand, and said it expects flat to moderate revenue growth sequentially in the third quarter. [ID:nSGE65M0JW]
TeraGo Inc (TGO.TO), a wireless broadband communications service provider, said on Wednesday it agreed to purchase wireless spectrum from Mobilexchange Spectrum Inc. [ID:nWNAB0683]
Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters. [RCH/CA]
Note: All values in RESEARCH ROUNDUP in Canadian currency, unless otherwise stated.
* AGF Management Ltd (AGFb.TO) price target cut to $18 from $20 at BMO
* Gennum Corp GND.TO price target raised to $5.85 from $4.80 at BMO
* First Uranium Corp FIU.TO price target cut to $1.10 from $1.45 at BMO
* Victoria Gold Corp (VIT.V) rating raised to outperform from market perform at Raymond James
$1=$1.03 Canadian Reporting by Bangalore newsroom, editing by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay and Jeffrey Hodgson
