Equities in Toronto touched a third-straight record on Tuesday as gains in financials and drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals offset a sharp loss by Shopify and a retreat by a slew of resource issues.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index moved higher 48.29 points to greet noon at 16,051.07
The Canadian dollar hesitated 0.34 cents to 77.59 cents U.S.
Valeant was one of the more influential gainers, climbing 2.4% to $14.98 after the company said it would cut its debt by an additional $125 million, exceeding its previously stated goal of cutting $5 billion in debt and ahead of its February 2018 schedule.
Among financial concerns, Canadian Western Bank advanced 6.4% to $36.91 after the company said it was acquiring ECN Capital Corp assets, and nearly half a dozen analysts raised their target price on the bank. ECN Capital Corp was up 6.4% at $36.91.
Shopify tumbled 8.3% to $128.56 despite posting strong earnings and turning an adjusted profit for the first time this quarter, as investors expressed disappointment the company did not do more to address concerns raised earlier this month by short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research.
Eldorado Gold slumped 8.1% to $1.60, while a number of other miners, including Goldcorp, Agnico Eagle Mines, and Wheaton Precious Metals, all fell more than 1%.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported Gross Domestic Product edged down 0.1% in August, after being essentially unchanged in July. The agency said declines in manufacturing and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction more than offset increases in most sectors.
The agency also reported its industrial product price index declined 0.3% in September, mainly due to lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles and meat, fish, and dairy products.
The agency’s raw material price index edged down 0.1%, primarily due to lower prices for animals and animal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange erased 0.36 points to 783.80
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive to commence Tuesday’s business, with health-care soaring 1.9%, consumer discretionary issues progressing 0.8%, and industrials better by 0.4%.
The four laggards were weighed most by gold, sliding 0.8%, information technology, down 0.7%, and materials, off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded marginally higher on Tuesday as strong gains from Mondelez and Kellogg were capped by sharp losses in Under Armour.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 31.1 points by Tuesday noon to 23,379.84
The S&P 500 tacked on 3.36 points to 2,576.19,
Snack maker Mondelez jumped 5.7% amid improving North America and emerging market sales. Kellogg, meanwhile, rose 5.8% after reporting better-than-expected earnings on strong sales in frozen foods. The two stocks were among the best performers in the S&P 500.
The NASDAQ added 19.72 points to 6,718.68.
Those gains were capped by a sharp loss in Under Armour, however.
Under Armour Class A shares tumbled 17.6%. The sports apparel retailer posted mixed quarterly results — beating earnings estimates and missing revenue expectations — but also cut its full-year guidance.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
However, most investors are not expecting any changes in policy. Market expectations for a Fed rate hike Wednesday are just 2%, according to experts. Rather, the Fed is expected to raise rates in December.
Speaking of the Fed, President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce his pick to be the next head of the central bank this week. Fed Governor Jerome Powell is likely to be named the next Fed chair.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were down slightly, raising yields to 2.38% from Monday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices poked ahead three cents a barrel to $54.18 U.S.
Gold prices lost $7.60 an ounce to $1,270.30 U.S.
