Equities in Canada’s biggest centre moved sideways Monday, as news came in about the housing market in this country, indicating the bubble had burst in the largest real-estate markets
The S&P/TSX Composite Index drifted lower 9.45 points to close Monday at 15,165.36
The Canadian dollar slumped 0.27 cents to 78.81 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included First Quantum Minerals, which rose $1.10, or 8.7% to $13.68, and Lundin Mining, which advanced 41 cents, or 5.2%, to $8.31.
Dominion Diamond Corp rose 93 cents, or 5.5% to $17.76, after the world's third-largest diamond producer by market value agreed to a sweetened takeover offer of $14.25 per share in cash from The Washington Companies, valuing it at $1.2 billion.
Health-care stocks also scored as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International rose 19 cents to $22.02 after saying it would sell its Obagi Medical Products business for $190 million in cash. Cannabis concern Canopy Growth climbed 37 cents, or 4.7%, to $8.20.
Gold stocks also were up there, as Kinross Gold acquired 11 cents, or 2.2%, to $5.05, while Goldcorp moved up the scale 18 cents, or 1.7%, to $16.75.
Industrials fell as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd slipped $2.59, or 1.2%, to $208.22 and SNC-Lavalin fell $1.25, or 2.2%, to $56.79.
Consumer staples sagged somewhat, as Restaurant Brands International dropped 80 cents, or 1%, to $77.01, while Metro lost seven cents to $42.50.
In the tech field, BlackBerry shares were unchanged at $12.60, while Constellation Software faded 15 cents, or 6.7%, to $2.08.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada said foreign investment in Canadian securities amounted to $29.5 billion in May, mainly purchases of government debt instruments.
At the same time, Canadian investors increased their holdings of foreign securities by $4.4 billion, led by investments in U.S. debt instruments.
Elsewhere, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday morning that the resale of Canadian homes fell 6.7% in June from May, the biggest monthly drop since 2010 and the third straight monthly decline as sales in Toronto plunged
The industry group said actual sales, not seasonally adjusted, slumped 11.4% from June 2016, while home prices surged 15.8% from a year earlier, according to the group's home price index.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.8 points to 760.80
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as industrial stocks drooped 0.7%, consumer staples went south 0.6%, and information technology fell 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by materials, ahead 1.5%, health-care headed higher 1.4%, and gold shone brighter by 1.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities fluctuated on Monday as investors geared up for a slew of earnings reports later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials eased off from the dizzy heights of record levels, losing 8.02 points Monday to 21,629.72, with Home Depot contributing the most gains and IBM the most losses.
The S&P 500 ditched 0.13 points to 2,459.14, with utilities leading advancers and health-care lagging
The NASDAQ added 1.97 points to 6,314.43, to extend its win streak to seven sessions.
Earnings season is upon us, and Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Microsoft, Qualcomm and eBay are just a few of the companies scheduled to release quarterly results. Asset manager BlackRock posted quarterly results earlier on Monday, missing analyst estimates on both revenue and profit. Netflix is set to report Monday after the close.
Overall earnings are expected to grow by 6.2% this quarter, according to experts. Earnings in the first quarter rose by approximately 15%
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground Monday, lowering yields to 2.31% from Friday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices fell 53 cents to $46.01 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $6.90 to $1,234.40 U.S. an ounce.
