North American markets were down at midday on Thursday as several Canadian companies posted disappointing quarterly results, and there was doubt the U.S. government's economic stimulus would work as well as hoped.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index fell about 25 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8,710. The declines came as firms such as Manulife Financial Corp., Sun Life Financial Inc. and EnCana Corp. posted profits short of expectations.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil was down $1.19 to $34.75 US a barrel, while gold rose $2.50 to $947 US an ounce.
The Canadian dollar was down 34 basis points to 80.15 cents US.
In the U.S., markets were down even though legislators there agreed on a stimulus package. But a poll of experts by Bloomberg News predicted the U.S. economy will contract by two per cent anyway. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 110 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 7,830. The Nasdaq composite index fell around five points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,525.
Major overseas markets were down across the board as well.
On Wednesday, the TSX lost 80 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 8,737.89. The Dow Jones climbed 50.65 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 7,939.53, and the Nasdaq advanced 5.77 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 1,530.50
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