The Toronto stock market was down at Tuesday’s lunch hour amid rising commodity prices and major acquisition activity.
The S&P/TSX Composite index stepped back 21.96 points to greet noon at 11,927.30
The Canadian dollar backtracked 0.01 cents to 101.43 cents U.S.
Montreal-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. is buying U.S. dermatology products maker Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. for about $2.6 billion in cash.
Valeant said Monday that it is paying $44 per share for Medicis, a 39% premium over Friday’s closing price of $31.87 for the Scottsdale, Ariz., company.
Canada's central bank will be in focus Wednesday as the Bank of Canada makes its next announcement on interest rates. The bank is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 1%, but traders will look for hints as to when the bank might hike rates.
Canadian employment data is also being released Friday. It is believed that the economy cranked out 11,000 jobs last month.
The market may also have one eye cocked on today’s election in Quebec, in which polls suggest victory by Pauline Marios’ pro-sovereignty Parti Quebecois’, which has been in opposition to Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals for the past nine years.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher by 1.13 points to 1,241.87. The Nasdaq Canada added 5.15 points to 345.68
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, 10 were lower by noon ET. Global base metals slid 1.4%, energy dipped 1% and gold stocks fell 0.9%.
The four gainers were led by health-care, rocketing 3.1%, while telecoms improved 0.3%, and information technology inched up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
A selloff in U.S. stocks accelerated Tuesday as investors read two economic reports showing sluggishness in the U.S. economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average jettisoned 93.46 points to 12,997.40.
The S&P 500 index faltered 7.80 points to 1,398.78, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was lower by 18.67 points to 3,048.29.
Investors shrugged off better-than-expected monthly sales from the big three automakers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.
Shares of Netflix tumbled nearly 10% after Amazon.com announced a licensing deal with the cable channel Epix to provide streaming movies.
Facebook's stock posted better-than-expected earnings Tuesday morning, sending shares of the company higher.
Smithfield Foods reported earnings of 40 cents U.S. per share, coming in bellow analyst expectations. The company cited growth in its packaged meat business, but poor performance of its fresh pork business dragged on profits.
In his speech last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that additional stimulus could be on the way, saying that the central bank is still willing to do whatever it takes to support the economy.
Meanwhile, Europe will once again be in focus after Moody's warned that the European Union's Aaa credit rating was at risk. Moody's revised its outlook on the E.U. to "negative" from "stable."
As euro-zone leaders return from summer holidays, investors are bracing for several key events in the euro area this month, starting with a crucial meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is widely expected to unveil details of a new bond-buying program for euro-zone governments that agree to certain conditions. But it remains to be seen if Draghi, who many view as the euro's saviour, will meet investors' high expectations.
Economically speaking, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that its monthly index slipped to 49.6.
Economists had been expecting the index to come in flat with a reading of 50, according to Briefing.com consensus.
That's compared to an ISM index reading of 49.8 in July. The July number ended a 34-month-long growth streak.
Any reading below 50 represents contraction, while any reading above it shows growth.
Construction spending dropped 0.9% to an annual rate of $834.4 billion U.S., the lowest level since April, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. The decline was the first since March and followed an unrevised 0.4% rise in June.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield sharply lower to 1.56% from 1.62% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices for September delivery fell $1.29 to $95.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery added $11.80 to $1,699.70 U.S. an ounce.
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