Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre retained slim gains by noon Tuesday, mostly on the strength of consumer discretionary and telecom stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 9.82 points at 15,812.52
The Canadian dollar fell 0.29 cents to 79.58 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks took a beating by noon hour, as Aphria slumped $1.06, or 13.4%, to $6.86.
In the materials sector, Hudbay Minerals fell 38 cents, or 3.6%, to $10.05.
The biggest gains were featured in the consumer discretionary sector, where Canadian Tire shares picked up 54 cents, or 1%, to $158.79.
Among telecoms, TELUS acquired 14 cents to $45.16.
Trade ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico wrap up a contentious round of NAFTA trade talks on Tuesday marked by aggressive U.S. demands that have left the future of the 23-year-old free trade pact in doubt.
The Bank of Canada said Monday Canadian companies have seen capacity and labour market pressures intensify over the past year, but that has not yet hit their ability to meet demand, underscoring expectations the bank will not raise interest rates next week.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.24 points to break for lunch at 788.25
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative by midday, with health-care plunging 2.3%, materials, off 0.8%, and gold, down 0.4%.
The five gainers were headed by consumer discretionary and telecoms, up each 0.6%, and industrials, gaining 0.5%. Information technology shares were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average rose on Tuesday, breaking above 23,000 for the first time.
The index gained 19.4 points above Monday’s all-time record to 22,976.36, buoyed by shares of UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson. But it had previously reached 23,000 just 76 days after first topping 22,000. If the Dow closes above 23,000, it would mark the fourth-fastest 1,000-point increase in the index's long history on a closing basis
Boeing and Caterpillar were the biggest points contributors on the Dow since Aug. 2, when the index first broke above 22,000. They added 142 points and 121 points, respectively. The two stocks have had a stellar year, rising 65.9% and 41.2% respectively.
Home Depot and Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, contributed 97 points and 87 points to the Dow's latest 1,000-point run.
UnitedHealth reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast, helped by growth across all its businesses. Shares of the largest U.S. health insurer rose 5.3% to hit an all-time high.
Johnson & Johnson also reported better-than-expected quarterly results, driven by its pharmaceutical business and its recent acquisition of
Swiss biotech Actelion and other businesses. The company's stock rose more than 2.4% and hit an all-time high.
Shares of Morgan Stanley rose 1.4% and hit levels not seen since May 2008. The company's wealth management business posted strong quarterly results.
Goldman Sachs' stock slipped 1.3%; it briefly traded higher after its third-quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations. Fixed income trading revenue totaled $1.45 billion, a 26% year-over-year drop, but was enough to top an expert estimate of $1.38 billion.
Harley-Davidson shares, meanwhile, gained 3% in choppy trade. Harley's stock traded lower earlier as its U.S. motorcycle sales fell 8.1% during the third quarter.
The S&P 500 subsided 1.04 points to 2,556.60
The NASDAQ slid 2.62 points to 6,621.38, after shares of streaming giant Netflix pulled back 1.3 percent. Netflix posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue, boosted by stronger-than-expected subscriber growth. The stock hit a record high before retreating.
Hopes of U.S. tax reform have received a boost lately after the House of Representatives passed a $4.1-trillion budget. The Senate is expected to vote on a budget bill later this week.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell slightly, raising yields to 2.31% from Monday’s 2.3%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 44 cents a barrel to $51.43 U.S.
Gold prices lost $16.50 to $1,286.50 U.S. an ounce
Related Stories
