Today in the markets
U.S. stocks rallied Thursday as investors assessed improved retail sales in the U.S. and technology shares took a hit in the wake of declining PC sales.
Canadian stocks fell as traders stepped back after a string of gains that brought the TSX back into positive territory for the year.
The S&P/TSX Composite was down 53.54 points to 12,481.37, while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 0.80 points to close at 1,048.54.
Active stocks included Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT,Stock Forum), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC, Stock Forum) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ, Stock Forum). Hewlett-Packard dropped 6.4% to $20.88. Microsoft was down 4.4% to $28.93. Intel eased 2% to $21.82.
In Canada, Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: T.ABX, Stock Forum) (NYSE: ABX, Stock Forum) gained 0.77% to $25.00 following a news of suspended work at a flagship gold-copper mine in Chile, which caused the stock to lose almost 9% of its value on Wednesday.
The largest investor in Research In Motion says he will stick with the BlackBerry (TSX: T.BBB, Stock Forum) company despite founder Mike Lazaridis announcement that he will leave the company. Prem Watsa, a board member who owns 10 per cent of the company, first became interested in RIM because of his friendship with Lazaridis.
Blackberry was off 7.4% to $13.82.
For news about small stocks that made big moves in Thursday’s trading, please read the
Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report