Stocks in Toronto displayed some growth Tuesday morning, ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting, with markets widely expecting the U.S. central bank will continue with its monetary stimulus program.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 33.99 to begin Tuesday’s session at 13,405.83
The Canadian dollar gained 0.08 cents to 95.83 cents U.S.
Workers at Barrick Gold’s suspended Pascua-Lama gold mine will vote by Wednesday on whether to strike, which they say could delay construction of a water management system crucial for the project to be re-activated. Barrick shares took a fall of 29 cents to $20.86.
Sears Canada will close its flagship downtown Toronto store and four other locations in a $400-million deal. Sears shares took on 94 cents to $14.48.
Agnico Eagle Mines is considering selling a minority stake in its Meliadine gold project in the Canadian sub Arctic, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Agnico shares stumbled 61 cents to $32.16.
U.S. officials weighing the climate impact of the proposed TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline connecting Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners are zeroing in on the question of whether shipment by rail is a viable alternative to the controversial project, industry sources say. TransCanada shares added a nickel to $46.86.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its industrial product price index dipped 0.3% in September – mostly due to lower prices for metals, petroleum and coal products -- while its raw materials price index doffed 1.5% during the same month, led by mineral fuels and vegetable products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.86 points to 973.17
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with consumer discretionary stocks adding 0.6%, while industrials and financials each jumping 0.5%.
The four laggards were weighed by gold, off 1%, materials, sliding 0.4%., and real-estate, down 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose again in early trading Tuesday, despite a lackluster report on retail sales.
The Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 41.39 points to begin Tuesday at 15,610.30
The S&P 500 index added 5.27 points to yesterday’s all-time high close, to sit early Tuesday at 1,767.38. The NASDAQ dipped 4.13 points to 3,936.
Apple shares moved higher a day after the tech giant reported quarterly sales and profit that handily beat Wall Street estimates. But the gains were slim as investors worried about the company's declining profit margins.
Pfizer reported a decline in revenue and profit for the third quarter, but a 24% revenue surge in its cancer division. The drug maker also lowered the top end of its guidance.
Nokia reported flat sales and profit for the third quarter. But the Finnish tech company's stock rose as investors welcomed a jump in smartphone sales. Nokia is in the process of selling its mobile device unit to Microsoft
Baidu and LinkedIn are on tap to release results after the bell.
Retail sales slipped 0.1% in September. The decline was the first since March but was in line with expectations.
A separate report showed that home prices kept rising in August, with prices in 20 big cities climbing at a 12.8% annual rate, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index.
The Federal Reserve will also be in focus as the central bank kicks off its two-day policy meeting. A statement is due Wednesday afternoon. The Fed is widely expected to keep its stimulus measures in place, but investors will be looking for signs to determine when the Fed may begin scaling back, or tapering, its $85 billion monthly bond buying program.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.53% from Monday’s 2.51%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 46 cents to $98.22 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices flopped $3.80 to $1,348.40 U.S. an ounce.
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