The Toronto stock market was flat at the start of trading Tuesday in what is expected to be a relatively subdued session. New York remains shut down by Hurricane Sandy.
The S&P/TSX composite began Tuesday down 5.78 points to 12,306.97
The Canadian dollar gained back some lost ground, taking on 0.16 cents to vault back above parity with its U.S. counterpart at 100.06 cents.
In corporate news, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. posted net income of $338 million or 70 cents a share, beating estimates by 15 cents. The company, which owns a 37% stake in the Syncrude Canada oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta., increased its 2012 cash flow guidance by 20%. Oil Sands stock gained 50 cents, or 2.4%, in the first hour of trading to $21.10
Talisman Energy Inc. reported a net loss of $731 million, largely as a result of asset writedowns in various parts of the world including its shale operations in Quebec and its offshore operations in Norway.
The oil and gas producer said it’s determined to return to profitability after the loss, which was worse than analyst estimates, and will reduce capital spending in 2013 to the lowest level in several years. Talisman stock deducted 14 cents a share to $11.91
Yamana Gold Inc reported a 6% fall in third-quarter adjusted profit on Monday as lower metal prices and higher production costs outweighed strong gold sales volumes. Yamana stock docked eight cents to $18.68.
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. says it will merge itself with its light-oil focused unit PetroBakken Energy Ltd and transfer its heavy oil business to a new entity to arrest a fall in its market valuation. Petrobank shares vaulted 85 cents, or nearly 7%, to $13.05, while PetroBakken fell 49 cents a share, or nearly 4%, to $11.89.
No macroeconomic data was in the pipeline in Canada for Tuesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 2.13 points to 1,293.56
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups began the session in negative country, weighed down mostly by industrials, down 0.4%, information technology, sliding 0.3%, and the metals and mining group, off Monday’s pace by 0.2%.
The four gainers were led by consumer staples, ahead 0.3%, energy, 0.2% better, and consumer discretionary issues, poking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NYSE has also said it intends to resume trading Wednesday, through its Arca electronic trading system if floor trading is not possible.
Bond markets in the U.S. were also closed for a second session.
The CME Group also cancelled floor trading in New York Chicago but commodity trading carried on electronically.
NYSE rarely shuts down for weather-related emergencies: Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and a snowstorm in 1969 were the last major weather events to bring the exchange to a halt.
In fact, the last time the market was closed for two consecutive weather-related days was more than a century ago, when the New York Stock Exchange kept its doors shut as the city coped with a blizzard of 1888.
The last unscheduled market-wide shutdown was in September 2001, when markets were closed for four full trading days following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. And in January 2007, the entire market shut down in accordance with the country's national day of morning in memory of President Gerald Ford, who had died a week earlier.
Oil prices advanced 27 cents to $85.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.90 per ounce to $1,713.60 U.S.
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