Canada Stocks Fall as Metals Slide and U.S. Jobless Claims Rise

Canadian stocks fell from a nine- month high as commodities slid after American jobless claims topped forecasts and concern grew that a budget compromise won’t cut the U.S. deficit fast enough.

Reitmans Canada Ltd. (RET/A) dropped 4.6 percent after the clothing retailer reported falling sales during December. Silvercorp Metals Inc. (SVM) declined 2.5 percent as the price of the metal fell for the first time in three days. Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-largest gold producer, slipped 1.1 percent as the price of the metal fell from a two-week high.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (SPTSX) fell 23.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,517.53 at 10:08 a.m. in Toronto. The benchmark gauge has risen 1.6 percent this week.

More Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment insurance payments last week as the closing of some state agencies during the holidays prompted the government to estimate figures. Applications for jobless benefits increased 10,000 to 372,000 in the week ended Dec. 29, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Economists forecast 360,000 claims.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Lam in Toronto at elam87@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net