Canada's main stock index made some headway on Tuesday, after a long weekend, as encouraging German economic data cheered investors.
The S&P/TSX composite index spiked 80.74 points to begin a short week at 12,767.37
The Canadian dollar tumbled 0.24 to 98.72 cents U.S.
Great-West Lifeco Inc. announced an agreement with the Government of Ireland to acquire, through one of its subsidiaries, all of the shares of Irish Life Group Limited for $1.75 billion or 1.3 billion euros. Great-West shares were flat at $26.78 soon after Tuesday’s opening bell.
Goldcorp. said that through its Goldcorp USA Inc. unit, it has received 22.06 million shares or about nearly 11.5% in the capital of Delta Gold Corp. Goldcorp shares acquired two cents to $34.01
Publisher McGraw-Hill Ryerson reported improved fourth-quarter net income of $4.44 million or $2.22 per share, compared to $2.65 million or $1.32 per share in the same quarter last year. McGraw-Hill shares were static at Friday’s close of $35.75.
Markets were closed Monday in honour of Family Day.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales fell 0.9% in December to $49.0 billion, after rising 0.7% in November, mostly because of lower sales in the computer and communications equipment and supplies industries.
The agency also reported this morning that folks from other countries reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $1.9 billion in December, led by large retirements of bonds and equities. This, as Canadian investors added $5.5 billion of foreign securities to their portfolios, marking four straight months of this upward trend.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 6.14 points to 1,179.51.
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher to begin Tuesday. Telecoms grew 1.3%, while financials and information technology were better each by 0.9%.
The three laggards were metals and mining, lower by 0.6%, while gold and materials declined 0.1% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened little changed Tuesday as investors grew hopeful about a potential merger between OfficeMax and Office Depot, but remained cautious ahead of a series of housing reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 50.82 points to begin Tuesday’s trading at 14,032.60
The S&P 500 index took on 6.52 points to 1,526.31. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite regrouped 9.40 points to 3,201.43
Separate reports on housing starts and building permits are due on Wednesday, and data on existing home sales will be released Thursday. Investors will also be closely watching housing stocks, including Lennar, Pulte, Toll Brothers and D.R. Horton
On the corporate front, shares of OfficeMax surged 27%, while shares of Office Depot jumped 30% after media reports said the companies were in advanced merger talks, citing unnamed sources. Staples, the other major office supplies retailer, gained about 16%.
The talks come as mergers and acquisitions have picked up. Just last week, US Airways announced a merger with American Airlines parent AMR.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced it was buying ketchup maker Heinz, and Comcast announced a $16.7-billion U.S. deal for the 49% of NBC Universal that was still owned by General Electric.
Best Buy shares rose 4% after the electronics retailer announced late Friday that it plans to make its price-matching program permanent, starting March 3.
Dell and controversial nutritional supplements company Herbalife will announce their quarterly results after the closing bell.
A hearing is scheduled Tuesday in David Einhorn's lawsuit against Apple Einhorn's hedge fund, Greenlight Capital has accused Apple of hoarding billions in cash and wants a judge to block a "bundled" shareholder vote, scheduled for Feb. 27. Einhorn wants shareholders to vote separately on an Apple proposal that would limit the company's ability to issue high-yielding preferred stock.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has called the lawsuit a "silly sideshow."
Economically speaking, the U.S. National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release its Housing Market index at 10 a.m. ET. Economists are expecting the index to rise to 48 in February, showing builder confidence is at a six-year high.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury were in positive territory, lowering yields to 2.00% from Friday’s 2.01%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked two cents to $95.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.10 to $1,608.40 U.S. an ounce.
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