TSX trudges on lack of central bank action

North American markets were negative on Thursday as Europe's central bank took no concrete action to address the debt crisis in the region.

The S&P/TSX Composite index stumbled 112.03 points, or 1%, by the close to 11,506.50

The Canadian dollar dipped 0.17 cents to 99.29 cents U.S.

Kinross Gold Corp. has replaced president and chief executive Tye Burt in a decision it says is necessary to move forward with its plan to improve the Toronto-based miner's lagging performance. Shares were down 40 cents, or 5%, to $7.61.

September copper moved down 5.6 cents to $3.32 U.S. a pound. Shares in Teck Resources slumped 78 cents, or 2.8%, to $26.97

In earnings, Enbridge Inc. says its second-quarter profit shrank by 96% to $11 million, as a decline in the fair value of its derivatives portfolio offset gains in the company's operational profit. Its shares fell 55 cents to $39.96

Gildan Activewear Inc. says its third-quarter profit fell to $78.6 million U.S., almost $10 million below the same time last year, as it absorbed restructuring and other costs related to an acquisition in May. Shares were unchanged at $28.23.

First Uranium, which is winding up its operations, cut Thursday the amount it estimates unitholders will receive to at least 12.5 cents per unit from approximately 22 cents per unit. The company attributed the lower estimate to changes in exchange rates as well as lower than expected gold prices and production from the operations.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange swooned 15.98 points to 1,173.65. The Nasdaq Canada index slid 2.59 points to 332.53.

Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, only the metals and mining group gained, hiking 0.6%.

Every other subgroup declined, weighed mostly by energy stocks, down 1.9%, global base metals, sliding 1%, and information technology, off 0.9%.

ON WALLSTREET

U.S. stocks slid Thursday after investors were disappointed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's failure to announce concrete plans to help solve Europe's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 92.18 points to 12,878.90

The S&P 500 doffed 10.11 points to 1,365.03. The Nasdaq skidded 10.44 points to 2,909.77

Knight Capital Group's stock plunged 50% after the company said it would report a $440 million pre-tax loss due to a "technology issue" at the trading firm Wednesday that led to a series of bizarre moves in the market.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters surged nearly 25%. The company reported earnings that topped forecasts and announced a stock buyback, but its guidance was weak.

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch tumbled after the teen retailer slashed its forecast for the year, citing weakness in Europe.
First Solar's stock rallied after the company posted an 82% jump in second-quarter profit.

Shares of Sony were down sharply after the company posted a wider loss compared to last year and cut its outlook for the year.

Shares of online review site Yelp advanced after the company reported quarterly results that showed solid revenue growth and a smaller-than-expected net loss.

General Motors shares were down slightly even after the auto delivered quarterly earnings of $1.5 billion U.S., topping forecasts, despite "headwinds" in Europe.

After the Federal Reserve refrained from taking new action to jumpstart the economy, investor hopes were high that Draghi would announce some form of new action after he pledged last week that the E.C.B. would do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro.

But Draghi's comments echoed previous remarks, and didn't present any material changes in policy action.

On the economic slate, the number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims rose 8,000 to 365,000 in the latest week, according to the U.S. Labor Department, in line with economists' expectations.

Planned jobs cuts fell 45% in July to a 15-month low, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Factory orders fell 0.5% in June, according to the Census Bureau. Economists were expecting order to rise 0.6% during the month.

The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yields down to 1.48% from 1.54% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for September delivery fell $1.76 to $87.15 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery fell $16.30 to $1,587.40 U.S. an ounce.