Stocks in Canada’s largest centre fell on Monday as declines for the materials and industrial groups offset gains for financial shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 40.4 points to begin Monday at 16,313.06
The Canadian dollar nicked higher 0.2 cents at 80.28 cents U.S.
Sobeys Inc signed a deal to use the ecommerce platform of Ocado to expand its online business, sending shares in the British group up 10% on its latest international tie-up.
Aurora Cannabis is in talks with rivals CanniMed Therapeutics and Newstrike Resources to buy both businesses in a deal that would create the nation’s top weed company.
Aurora shares rocketed 85 cents, or 6.3%, to $14.33, while CanniMed shares raced ahead $2.98, or 8.6%, to $37.75. Newstrike took on 21 cents, or 14.3%, to $1.68.
CIBC raised the price target on Capstone Mining to $2.00 from $1.90. Capstone shares acquired a penny to $1.46.
JP Morgan raised the target price on Magna International to $69 from $65. Magna shares dropped 99 cents, or 1.4%, to $71.91.
Eight Capital raised the price target on Orocobre to $9.10 from $7.00. Orocobre shares deducted 16 cents, or 2.4%, to $6.58.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported wholesale trade for November rose 0.7% to $63.6 billion in November, a second consecutive increase. Sales were up in six of seven sub-sectors, representing 99% of wholesale sales
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.59 points to 889.03
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as industrials gave back 1.1%, materials slumped 0.9% and consumer discretionary stocks dropped 0.8%
The two gainers were financials, inching up 0.3%, and health-care, eking up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ composite reached record highs on Monday as Wall Street shrugged off the first U.S. government shutdown since 2013
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 37.61 points to 26,109.33,
The S&P 500 tallied 9.03 points to 2,819.33, with energy and telecommunications as the best-performing sectors.
The NASDAQ added 31.36 points to 7,367.74, as Netflix shares rose 2.6%.
Investors also paid attention to the corporate earnings season. On Monday, Halliburton reported better-than-expected earnings, sending the company's shares up 3.7%.
The calendar fourth-quarter earnings season is off to a good start. As of Friday, 68% of the S&P 500 companies that had reported surpassed earnings expectations, while 85% of those companies had beaten sales estimates
Netflix and TD Ameritrade are scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the bell Monday.
Elsewhere in corporate news, Twitter shares fell 1% after media reports that executive Anthony Noto has been offered the CEO job at Social Finance.
On Saturday, the U.S. government shut down after a bill that would have kept government funded through mid-February was voted against in the Senate. The shutdown continued for a third day after the Senate on Sunday failed to reach an agreement to break an impasse before the work week began in Washington.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.64% from Friday’s 2.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surrendered all of two cents a barrel to $63.35 U.S.
Gold prices slipped 80 cents to $1,332.30 U.S. an ounce.
