Today in the markets
U.S. stocks fell Thursday after the U.S. Treasury Department warned of dire consequences that might arise from the debt ceiling issue if Congress does not raise the debt limit.
Canadian stocks were also lower, as a partial U.S. government shutdown continued for a third day with no end in sight.
The S&P/TSX Composite was down 103.88 points to 12,735.12, while the TSX Venture Exchange retreated 3.52 points to close at 943.81.
Active stocks included
Boeing Co. (
NYSE: BA,
Stock Forum), which dropped 2.2% to $115.24 after the aerospace giant warned about delays for its jet and defense businesses due to the partial government shutdown in the U.S.
Tesla Motors Inc. (
NASDAQ: TSLA,
Stock Forum), which dropped another 4.2% to $173.31 on reports that a fire that destroyed a Tesla electric car near Seattle. Reports said the fire began in the vehicle's battery pack, officials said Wednesday, creating challenges for firefighters who tried to put out the flames.
On Wednesday, the stock fell 6.3% to $180.95, after Tesla was cut to a rating of neutral by analysts at Baird, who have maintained their price target of $187.
In Canada,
BlackBerry (
TSX: T.BB,
Stock Forum) shares fell 3.6% to $7.97 on a Globe and Mail report that
Fairfax Financial Holding Ltd. (TSX: T.FFH, Stock Forum) has submitted a draft of its takeover agreement to BlackBerry, according to sources reached by the Toronto Globe and Mail.
But the report says the Canadian firm might have competition in its bid to take the smart phone maker private.
The vice-president of
TransCanada Corp. (
TSX: T.TRP,
Stock Forum) was off 1.1% to $44.69 after the company’s vice-president says it will now be sometime in 2014 before the company will file an application for its proposed Energy East Pipeline to the National Energy Board.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. (
TSX: T.WJA,
Stock Forum) skidded 2.5% to $25.41. The company says it had a greater proportion of empty seats on its flights last month as increases in the airline's capacity outpaced its growth in passengers.
The airline says its load factor in September was 76.6 per cent, down from 79.1 per cent a year ago.
Cequence Energy Inc. (
TSX: T.CQE,
Stock Forum) said an arm of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is expected to buy $60 million of five-year notes from Cequence, a move that sent the stock up 9.7% to $1.70.
For news about small stocks that made big moves in Thursday’s trading, please read the
Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report