Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Tuesday as investors welcomed the re-election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, although some concerns over a minority government’s ability to build new oil pipelines capped gains.
The TSX Composite Index gained 46.5 points to kick off Tuesday at 16,464.95
The Canadian dollar subtracted 0.12 cents at 76.29 cents U.S.
Trudeau hung onto power after an election on Monday that saw his government reduced to a minority, but aides predicted he would be able to govern for two years without many problems.
Bombardier on Monday unveiled its revamped Liberty Learjet 75 corporate plane, betting that extra legroom and a lower price tag would help the Canadian company beat back competition from Embraer SA’s market leading model.
Bombardier fell two cents, or 1.2%, to $1.62.
CIBC raised the rating on Orla Mining to outperform from neutral. Orla took on a penny at $1.51.
CIBC cut the target price CCL Industries to $68.00 from $69.00. CCL shares declined 35 cents to $52.72.
Goldman Sachs cut the target price on Imperial Oil to $37.00 from $39.00. IMO dipped 11 cents to $32.90.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales edged down 0.1% in August to $51.5 billion. Sales were down in six sub-sectors, representing 51% of retail trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.04 points to 543.40
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups were positive in the first hour, with gold shining 0.9% brighter, industrials and utilities each ahead 0.5%.
The two laggards were energy, down 0.4%, and health-care, trailing 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose slightly on Tuesday as investors pored through a slew of key earnings from companies such as United Technologies, Procter & Gamble and McDonald’s.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19.58 points to open for business Tuesday at 26,847.22
The S&P 500 added 6.52 points to 3,013.24. Tuesday’s moves pushed the S&P 500 closer to a record set in July. The broad index is less than 1% away from hitting that level.
The NASDAQ Composite carved out gains of 20.68 points to 8,183.67.
United Technologies shares rose more than 1% after the company posted earnings that topped analyst expectations. Better-than-expected revenues from the company’s Otis, Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace divisions helped drive the beat.
Procter & Gamble climbed 4.1% after its results topped expectations. The company’s numbers were driven by Procter’s beauty, health-care and fabric and home care lines.
However, those results were dampened by a 3.3% drop in McDonald’s shares. The fast-food giant posted earnings and revenue for the previous quarter that missed analyst expectations. The company’s U.S. same-store sales, a key metric for franchises, grew by 4.8%. That’s below estimates of 5.1%.
JetBlue, UPS and Lockheed Martin also reported quarterly profits that topped analyst expectations.
So far, more than 19% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly numbers. Of those companies, nearly 80% have beaten analyst earnings expectations.
Texas Instruments, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Snap are poised to report their latest quarterly figures after market close.
Investors also kept an eye on global trade after China’s vice foreign minister said that Beijing and Washington had achieved some progress in their trade talks.
His comments come less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump sounded optimistic about the prospect of a trade agreement by the middle of next month.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.77% from Monday’s 1.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 59 cents to $53.90 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recouped $2.20 to $1,490.30 U.S. an ounce.
