Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre led by financial stocks after Bank of Nova Scotia reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, while higher oil prices supported energy stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite gained 42.49 points to open Tuesday at 14,724.46
The Canadian dollar faded 0.27 cents at 76.58 cents U.S.
Bank of Nova Scotia reported third-quarter earnings that were ahead of market expectations, driven by growth in its domestic and international banking businesses.
Scotiabank shares gained $1.10, or 1.6%, to $69.96.
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc said on Monday it would buy IronPlanet, a privately held U.S. e-commerce site for used equipment, for about $758.5 million, as it looks to diversify its portfolio.
Ritchie shares zoomed $6.26, or 16.6%, to $43.89.
Twin Butte Energy debenture holders voted to reject a takeover bid by Hong Kong's privately held Reignwood Resources Holding Pte Ltd on Monday, throwing the cash-strapped Canadian oil and gas producer's financial future into uncertainty.
Twin Butte shares were unchanged at 2.5 cents.
Barclays raised the target price on Dollarama to $105.00 from $98.00, with an equal-weight rating.
Shares in Dollarama moved upward 22 cents to $97.19.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index rose 0.2% in July. Higher prices for primary non-ferrous metal products were largely moderated by a decline in prices for energy and petroleum products.
The Raw Materials Price Index decreased 2.7%, as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange let go of 2.58 points to 803.35
The 12 subgroups were evenly split in the first hour of trading, as energy surged 1%, industrials took on 0.7%, and financials prospered 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most heavily by gold, dulling in price 1.4%, materials, retreating 0.6%, and health-care, sinking 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded near the flatline Tuesday as investors analyzed strong consumer data while keeping an eye on Apple shares and the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials subsided 46.98 points to 18,456.01, with Boeing contributing the most to losses.
The S&P 500 gave back 3.42 points to 2,176.96, with energy leading sector higher and telecommunications lagging.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 4.11 points to 5,228.11
Investors also kept an eye on Apple. The Dow component slipped about 0.3% after the European Commission ordered Ireland to recover more than $14.5 billion U.S. in back taxes from the tech giant.
The consumer confidence index for August rose to 101.1, with economists seeing the number come in at 97.
Other data released Tuesday included the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite index, which rose 5.1% year over year, versus expectations of 5.2%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Monday’s 1.57%.
Oil prices picked up 32 cents at $47.30 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices subtracted $6.30 at $1,320.80 U.S. an ounce.
