The Toronto stock market looked set to start the session little changed Tuesday amid low late-summer volumes and ahead of a key speech by the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Friday.
The S&P/TSX Composite index jettisoned 33.41 points to finish Monday at 12,048.82
The Canadian dollar jumped 0.34 cents Tuesday morning to 101.27 cents U.S.
The financial sector could supply some lift after Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank released quarterly earnings that beat expectations.
BMO posted net income of $970 million or $1.42 per share, up 37% from a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the bank’s earnings were $1.49 per share, beating analyst expectations by 10 cents. BMO also increased its dividend by two cents to 72 cents a share.
Scotiabank’s quarterly profits grew by 57% to $2.05 billion or $1.69 a share, three cents higher than expectations. The bank also said it is raising its quarterly dividend by two cents to 57 cents per share.
The Scotiabank results were helped by an after-tax gain of $614 million from the sale of its headquarters in Toronto’s financial district.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange deducted 5.06 points Monday to 1,246.82. The Nasdaq Canada dropped 3.73 points to 347.93
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were poised for a mixed open Tuesday, in what's expected to be yet another quiet day on Wall Street.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials retreated 17 points, or 0.1%, to 13,090, about 30 minutes before the opening bell.
Futures for the S&P 500 gave back three points, or 0.2% to 1,405.30, and for the Nasdaq, futures dipped 3.5 points, or 0.1%, to 2,779.25.
With little on the economic or corporate front, most investors are just waiting to hear what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has to say when he speaks Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors are hopeful that he will announce further action to ease growing concerns about a U.S. economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, investors are keeping tabs on oil prices, which crept up $1 to $96.47 U.S. a barrel Tuesday, as Tropical Storm Isaac curtailed oil production along the Gulf of Mexico.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gas continues to increase, hitting $3.76 U.S. Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association. Experts say that prices could shoot up another 10 cents fairly quickly, depending upon the extent and duration of the refinery shutdowns.
European stocks were lower Tuesday, amid concerns over global growth. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.2%, the DAX in Germany lost 0.5% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.7%.
Spain's economy continued to contract in the second quarter, fueling concerns that the country will need a large-scale financial rescue. The economy shrunk by 0.4% between April and June, following a 0.3% drop in the first quarter, the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica said. This is the third quarter in a row that the nation's ailing economy has declined.
Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite added 0.9% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ticked up 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.6%.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $8.70 to $1,669 U.S. an ounce.
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