Did someone say iPhone? Rogers Communications Inc. may have doubled its profit in the first quarter in an announcement before markets opened on Tuesday. But the bigger news was likely that the communications company will be bringing Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone to Canada this year. Rogers shares surged 6.9 per cent in early trading.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 72 points, to 14,014, weighed down mostly by the same stock that drove it higher in previous weeks: Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. fell another 3.2 per cent, following Monday's slide. As well, Gildan Activewear fell 27.7 per cent after clothing company cut its guidance for the second quarter and the rest of the year.
On the up side, companies that reported strong first-quarter results prior to the start of trading saw their share prices surge in early trading: WestJet Airlines Ltd. rose 3.2 per cent (yes, despite higher fuel costs and struggling peers), Nexen Inc. rose 2.4 and Petro-Canada rose 2.3 per cent.
In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 6 points, to 12,866. Merck & Co. Inc. was the big loser here, falling 7.9 per cent after the volatile pharmaceutical giant announced yet another setback: the Food & Drug Administration nixed its cholesterol pill.
In an interesting case of diverging fortunes, Mastercard Inc. rose 9 per cent after it reported quarterly profit that doubled, beating expectations. Its competitor, Visa Inc., initially fell more than 3 per cent after it reported that its profit rose 28 per cent during the quarter, after markets closed. However, the results failed to top the more optimistic expectations.
