Canada's main stock index was virtually unchanged soon after the open on Tuesday, as energy shares fell on the back of lower oil prices on concerns that any further curbs to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic could hit a recovery in fuel demand.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged ahead 4.08 points to open Tuesday at 15,643.49.
The Canadian dollar docked 0.09 cents at 73.40 cents U.S.
Citigroup raises the price target on Brookfield Asset Management to $36.50 from $34.00. Brookfield shares added 27 cents to $45.35.
CIBC raises target price on Intertape Polymer Group to $13.50 from $12.50. Intertape shares nosed up six cents to $13.35.
As Mexico celebrated a new trade deal with the United States and Canada on July 1, a group of Canadian energy investors warned their government that Mexico could already be violating the agreement for failing to respect contracts.
Moreover, Canada and the U.S. are reportedly set to extend a ban on non-essential travel that was imposed to fight the coronavirus outbreak, although a final decision has not been taken.
ON BAYSTREET
The once high-flying TSX Venture Exchange got pounded again, this time, 16.19 points, or 2.4%, to 650.30.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher in the first hour, with gold shining brighter 0.9%, utilities up 0.4%, and consumer staples stronger 0.3%.
The five laggards were weighed most by energy, dropping 0.6%, while financials and real-estate concerns each settled 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were flat on Tuesday as shares of major tech companies added to their late-day reversal from the previous session while Wall Street grappled with the major banks reporting earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials resumed its upward progress, climbing 89.13 points to 26,174.93.
The S&P 500 faded 8.85 points to 3,146.37
The tech-heavy NASDAQ parted with some of its mojo, losing 95.94 points, to 10,294.91.
Facebook, Amazon and Netflix slid at least 0.4% each. Alphabet slid 0.5% and Microsoft fell 0.6%, respectively, on Tuesday. Those losses added to a broad decline for Big Tech that started on Monday and evaporated a massive rally for the broader market.
JPMorgan Chase rose more than 1% after the banking giant posted earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations. The bank’s strong results were driven in part by a 79% surge in trading revenues amid the market’s volatile swings in the second quarter.
Strong trading revenues also helped Citigroup offset a slowdown in the company’s consumer banking business. The bank reported second-quarter results that topped analyst expectations.
Wells Fargo slid more than 5% after reporting a $2.4 billion loss for the quarter, its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis. The bank also cut its dividend to 10 cents from 51 cents a share.
While corporate profits are expected to fall by 44% in the second quarter, the financial sector is expected to see a more than 52% decline in profits
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 0.61% from Monday’s 0.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices backpedaled 22 cents to $39.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shed $12.10 to $1,802.00 U.S. an ounce.
