Equities in Toronto were fairly flat at opening on Monday, amid growing fears of a military conflict in Ukraine and last week's heavy selloff on Wall Street prompt investors to shun riskier assets.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 8.81 points to begin Monday at 14,266.50
The Canadian dollar gained back 0.18 cents at 91.28 cents U.S.
LNG supplier Stabilis Energy said on Monday it would buy most of the U.S. assets of Encana Natural Gas Inc, a unit of Encana Corp, whose shares gained 23 cents to $24.88.
Residents of the British Columbia town of Kitimat voted against the Northern Gateway pipeline project in a blow to Enbridge's efforts to expedite the flow of crude from Canada's landlocked oil sands to high-paying markets in Asia. Enbridge shares dipped 42 cents to $50.75.
BlackBerry Ltd said it plans to release security updates for messaging software for Android and iOS devices by Friday to address vulnerabilities in programs related to the "Heartbleed" security threat. The company formerly known as Research In Motion saw its shares inched up two cents to $8.00
Internationally, Russian stocks and the ruble dropped as the continuing strife between Russia and Ukraine ramped up to a fever pitch.
Pro-Russian protesters seized a police station in Ukraine and the government threatened to oust them with a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation."
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched up 0.18 points to 998.08
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher in the first hour of trading, with metals and mining climbing 1.5%, while gold gained 1.4%, and global base metals acquired 1%.
The five laggards were weighed by telecoms, off 1%, utilities, down 0.7%, and consumer staples, sliding 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors came back from the weekend with a more upbeat attitude after last week's nasty selloff.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered 78.34 points to 16,105.09. The S&P 500 gained 10.29 points to 1,826.61, and the NASDAQ composite index took on 23.49 to 4,023.19
Better-than-expected reports from Citigroup and retail sales data helped U.S. markets open in positive territory after a painful week that saw the NASDAQ fall 3.1%, the S&P 500 slide 2.7%, and the Dow tumble 2.3%. Traders expect more volatility as earnings season kicks into full swing over the next few weeks.
The king of the morning is Citigroup. The third largest U.S. bank's stock is climbing after the company released first quarter earnings that beat analysts' forecasts. Profits rose 4% from the same period last year.
Earnings from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley will come later in the week.
On the economic front, March retail sales posted their biggest gain since September 2012, up 1.1% as shoppers started returning to stores after the frigid winter months. Sales were exceptionally strong at auto dealers.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell back, raising yields to 2.63% from Friday’s 2.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 19 cents to $103.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $6.90 to $1,325.90 U.S. an ounce.
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