(RTTNews) - Bay Street stocks may recover from a 2-day slump Thursday morning amid firm commodities prices and on hopes for a resolution for the Greece debt crisis. A fairly upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy by the Federal Reserve and bargain hunting might also help lift sentiment. The FOMC, at the end of a two-day policy meeting Wednesday, kept interest rates near zero for an ‘extended period.’ The central bank also said the labor market is beginning to improve and noted that housing starts have edged up. U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher opening. On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 69.85 points or 0.58% to 12,076.89. The main index shed 1.67% in the past two sessions after closing at a fresh 18-month high on Monday. Analysts attribute this fall to a knee-jerk reaction for the S&P’s downgrade of Spain after Greece and Portugal. The price of crude oil edged up $0.94 to $84.16 a barrel, recovering for a 4-week low hit intraday previous session. The price of gold was trading almost flat at around $1,170 an ounce, holding on to its previous session’s gains. Research In Motion may be in play after Hewlett Packard yesterday announced a $1.2 billion deal to acquire Palm Inc., the ailing company that manufacturers smart phones. In corporate news, fertilizer maker Potash Corp. (POT.TO) reported improved first-quarter earnings of $1.47 per share, compared with $1.01 per share earned in the same period last year. Analysts were expecting the company to record earnings of $1.32 per share for the quarter. For fiscal 2010, the company revised up its net income guidance to a range of $4.50 - $5.25 per share, from the earlier $4.00 to $5.00 per share. Gold miner Goldcorp (G.TO) slipped to loss in first-quarter, reporting net loss of $0.07 per share, compared to net income of $0.40 per share in the same quarter last year. Analysts were expecting the company to earn US$0.25 per share for the quarter. Gold explorer Centerra Gold (CG.TO) swung to profit in first quarter, reporting net earnings of $0.52 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.09 per share in the same quarter last year. Fuel cell products maker Ballard Power (BLD.TO) reported narrower first quarter net loss of $0.12 per share, compared to $0.23 per share in the year ago period. Integrated oil company Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) announced improved first-quarter net income of C$0.56 a share, compared to C$0.33 a share for the same period last year. Oil and natural gas company Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) reported first- quarter net earnings of C$0.70 per share, compared to C$0.69 in the year ago quarter. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.20 per share. Entertainment company IMAX Corp. (IMX.TO) swung to profit in first-quarter, reporting net earnings of $0.40 per share versus a loss of $0.06 per share last year. Analysts were expecting the company to report $0.37 per share for the quarter. In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell to 448,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 459,000. Economists were expecting jobless claims to slip to 445,000 from the 456,000 originally reported for the previous week. For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

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