TSX lower on U.S. retail data

The Toronto stock market was lower Tuesday amid a disappointing read in U.S. retail sales while traders took another mass downgrade of the credit worthiness of European countries in stride.

The S&P TSX Composite Index stumbled 44.22 points by the close, to 12,354.47.

The Canadian dollar nicked ahead 0.05 of a cent to 100.08 cents U.S.

The energy component lost ground, though, Cenovus Energy recovered 76 cents to $38.48.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. stock fell $1.76, or 4.6%, to $36.41 after it said that its Horizon oilsands mine won't return to full production until mid-to-late March. Output has been suspended since Feb. 5 as the energy giant made repairs to its upgrader, which processes thick, sticky bitumen from the oilsands into a type of crude refineries can handle.

The outage has caused Canadian Natural to lower its 2012 Horizon output targets to between 93,000 and 103,000 barrels per day of synthetic crude oil from 105,000 to 115,000 barrels per day.

The base metals sector lost strength as copper lost ground for a third day, down four cents to $3.80 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gave back 42 cents to $38.88.

The gold sector was flat as Goldcorp Inc. faded 29 cents to $45.41.

Financials were also weak with Royal Bank down five cents to $53.61 while Manulife Financial fell eight cents to $11.90 after ratings agency Fitch downgraded its outlook for the insurer to negative. Fitch cited "concerns about negative trends in adjusted earnings and the company's financial leverage, which is at the high end of rating expectations."

Elsewhere on the corporate front, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust reported its net profits plunged in the latest quarter as the company's bottom line was affected by tax-related measures.

Net profits dropped to $242 million or 87 cents a unit from $1.3 billion a year ago. Its annual operating funds from operations -- a key financial measure for real estate companies -- jumped 16% to $380 million from $329 million. Its units dipped 44 cents to $26.51.

Oil and gas pipeline operator TransCanada Corp. handed in quarterly earnings of $375 million, or 53 cents per share, up from $269 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenues grew to $2.36 billion from $2.06 billion.

TransCanada also announced its quarterly dividend will be raised to 44 cents per share, up from 42 cents, and its shares gained 64 cents to $42.12.

Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is again intervening in a labour dispute at Air Canada. She has met with representatives of the airline and the Air Canada Pilots Association and initiated a six-month mediation process. Raitt told both sides that any work stoppage would be contrary to the interests of Canadians. Air Canada shares were unchanged at $1.04.

The latest from Statistics Canada this morning is that car sales dipped in this country for a second consecutive month, down 3.0% in December to 133,146 units, mainly because sales in Ontario and Alberta were off.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange fell 19.33 points to 1,630.07, while the Nasdaq Canada index gave back 3.41 points to 412.55

All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down on the day. Global base metals fizzled 2%, while the metals and mining and gold groups suffered 1% each.

Consumer staples climbed 0.6% to lead the three gaining groups, while health-care gained 0.4%, and telecoms prospered 0.2%.

ON WALLSTREET

In New York, stocks fell Tuesday as investors weighed a weaker-than-expected report on retail sales and ongoing worries about the debt crisis in Europe.

The Dow Jones Industrials forged into positive territory by 4.24 points by the closing bell to 12,878.30.

The S&P 500 declined 1.27 points to 1,350.50, while the tech-focused Nasdaq tacked on 0.44 points to 2,931.83

Shares of U.S. banks were under pressure, with Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan all down sharply.

Shares of Michael Kors surged after the fashion label posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue, and also issued upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter.

Zipcar, which made its stock market debut last April, posted a profit of $3.9 million U.S., as revenues rose 21% to $62.9 million U.S. and total membership jumped 25% during the quarter.

Masco shares plunged after the home improvement and building products maker reported a narrower quarterly loss, but missed analysts' expectations.

Goodyear Tire shares sank after the company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss.

Shares of Hospira rose after the maker of injectable drug technologies reported quarterly results that beat analysts' expectations.

Watson, a maker of generic drugs, also reported better-than-expected quarterly results, sending its shares higher.

After the closing bell, social gaming company Zynga will post fourth-quarter results, its first report since its IPO in December.

Meanwhile, the Eurogroup of euro-zone finance ministers canceled a Wednesday meeting to discuss a second bailout for Greece, announcing plans to hold a conference call instead. The ministers are set to hold their next official meeting March 20.

The delay is necessary to complete "further technical work" on the details of Greece's economic reform program, including a €325-million budget shortfall, and debt analysis, according to Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker.

At issue is a €130-billion bailout, which Greece is negotiating with lenders at the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. Greece needs to secure additional bailout funds to avoid defaulting on a €14.5-billion bond redemption in March.

On the economic calendar, retail sales were up 0.4% in January compared to December, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.

Sales were expected to have risen by 0.8%, according to a survey of economists by Briefing.com.
A surprise 1.1% drop in auto sales put a crimp in the overall advance. Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose 0.7% in the latest report.

Later Tuesday, a report on December business inventories is expected to show an increase of 0.5%, following a 0.3% rise in November.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate finance and budget committees will discuss President Obama's budget proposal

Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained ground, driving down yields to 1.92% from Monday's 1.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery gained nine cents to $101.00 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $7.20 to end at $1,717.70 U.S. an ounce