Today in the markets
U.S. stocks closed higher in an abbreviated session Wednesday, buoyed by positive jobs data, which offset concerns about the military coup in Egypt and political crisis in Portugal.
Canadian stocks were lower even as commodity prices, including gold and oil, moved higher in the wake of events in Egypt and Portugal.
The S&P/TSX Composite declined 32.70 points to 12,145.68, while the TSX Venture Exchange edged up 4.19 points to close at 881.18.
Active stocks included, Alcoa Inc. (
NYSE: AA,
Stock Forum), which fell 1.1% to $7.71, following a downgrade by J.P Morgan analysts. The aluminum giant is set to kick off the second quarter earnings season after the close of trading on Monday.
Apple Inc. (
NASDAQ: AAPL,
Stock Forum) rose 0.55% to $420.80. The smartphone maker says it has hired Paul Deneve, the CEO of high-end fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent, to work on special projects reporting to CEO Tim Cook.
In Canada, BlackBerry (
TSX: T.BB,
Stock Forum) (
NASDAQ: BBRY,
Stock Forum) fell 0.49 % to $10.17 as investors continued to react to dismal earnings in its latest quarter, which prompted analysts to downgrade the stock.
Surge Energy Inc. (
TSX: T.SGY) climbed 2.7% to $5.34 on volume of 6.9 million shares. The oil and gas company announced the closing Wednesday of its previously announced $247.5 million equity financing.
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (
TSX: T.PNC.B,
Stock Forum) was unchanged at $1.70 after the newspaper publisher said it lost $112.2 million in its latest quarter on a $93.9-million impairment charge and a drop in revenue.
For news about small stocks that made big moves in Wednesday’s trading, please read the
Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report.