Tuesday saw a higher open for equity markets in Toronto as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops in military exercises on the border with Ukraine to return to their bases, calming fears of a possible war in the region.
The S&P/TSX composite index began Tuesday up 54.96 points to 14,267.40
The Canadian dollar was down 0.03 at 90.26 cents U.S.
Bank of Nova Scotia reported a 6% rise in quarterly profit on the back of recent acquisitions and higher lending volumes, and hiked its quarterly dividend. Scotiabank shares gained eight cents to $63.11.
Enbridge Inc. said it would undertake a $7-billion replacement program in the mainline system running between Edmonton and Superior, Wisconsin. Enbridge shares climbed 71 cents to $47.58.
Santiago, Chile will host a new exchange designed to raise capital for early-stage businesses in the mining sector, joint venture partners the Santiago Stock Exchange and Canada exchange operator TMX Group Ltd said on Monday. TMX Group shares gained 46 cents to $51.98.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 5.13 points to 1,023.23.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher in the first hour, led by metals and mining and their cousins among global base metals, each group up 1.4%, while industrials prospered 0.8%.
The two laggards were gold, down 0.7%, while materials slid 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors moved back into stocks Tuesday as worries about a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine eased up.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average perked 180.28 points, or 1.1%, to begin Tuesday at 16,348.31
The S&P 500 index hiked 21.74 points to 1,867.47. The NASDAQ added 63.76 points to 4,341.06
In corporate news, Radio Shack shares tumbled more than 20% after the electronics retailer said that it is closing about 1,100 stores, or about 20% of its total, amid plunging same-store sales.
Apple shares edged higher after the iPhone maker said Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer would retire.
Gun maker Smith & Wesson will report earnings after the close.
On the economic front, U.S. President Obama will release his fiscal year 2015 budget proposal Tuesday. The budget will include a handful of proposals to help low- and middle-income families.
Internationally, President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Moscow that Russia has no intention of annexing Ukraine's Crimea region, where the Russians have military bases.
Earlier in the day, he ordered troops to return from military exercises.
But the Russian leader also called last month's ouster of Ukraine president Viktor Vanukovych, who is sympathetic to Moscow, an "anti-constitutional" coup and reserved the right to use military force.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sank, raising yields to 2.66% from Monday’s 2.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $1.51 to $103.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $15.90 to $1,334.40 U.S. an ounce.
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