The Toronto stock market was slightly higher Tuesday, unaffected by news that the board at Botox-maker Allergan has unanimously rejected an improved takeover offer by Quebec-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 33.17 points to close Tuesday at 14,904.38
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.02 cents to 91.72 cents U.S.
On Tuesday, Allergan said it was rejecting Valeant's latest offer because it still undervalues the California-based company and claimed it creates significant risks and uncertainties for its shareholders.
Earlier this month, with the backing of activist shareholder Bill Ackman, Valeant raised its stock-and-cash bid to about $175 U.S. per share, valuing Allergan at more than $52.4 billion U.S.
Allergan repeated its claim that Valeant has an unsustainable business model that relies on "serial" acquisitions and cost reductions, as opposed to revenue growth and operational excellence. Shares in Valeant faded $1.19, or 0.9%, to $136.84 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The gold-mining sector jumped, with Barrick Gold adding 29 cents, or 1.7%, to $17.71 and Goldcorp climbing 93 cents, or 3.7%, to $26.06.
Shares of energy producers edged higher. Suncor Energy advanced 29 cents, or 0.7% to $43.68, while Imperial Oil dipped eight cents, or 0.2%, to $54.27
Financials slipped, with Toronto Dominion Bank losing 26 cents, or 0.5%, to $54.98, and Bank of Nova Scotia added 10 cents to $70.81.
In Canada, a survey by international human resources firm Manpower Inc. suggests about 20% of Canadian companies expect to add to their payrolls in the third quarter.
Manpower Inc. says that figure falls to 10% when seasonal variations are factored in, along with the four per cent of firms that expected to shed workers in the July-September period. That's one percentage point higher than both the second and third quarters of 2013.
Most of the companies surveyed, 74%, said they planned on keeping staffing levels the same, while 2% were unsure what their hiring would be like in the upcoming quarter. The survey found that hiring intentions were most favourable in Western Canada.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 1.12 points to 986.87
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by day’s end, most notably gold, gaining 2.1%, materials, surging 1.6%, and consumer staples, advancing 0.9%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by global base metals and real-estate, each off 0.5%, and health-care, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks drifted slightly lower Tuesday afternoon, putting the market's four-day winning streak in doubt.
The Dow Jones Industrials were up 2.82 points, to close Tuesday at 16,945.92, yet another new record and within striking distance of crossing the 17,000 mark for the first time ever.
The S&P 500 shed 0.48 points to 1,950.79, and the NASDAQ composite index leaned forward 1.76 points to 4,338.
Investors guzzled down shares of Molson Coors, which soared 6% and was the best performer on the S&P 500 ahead of the start of the World Cup later this week.
Shares of Netflix climbed 2% after the company reportedly buried the hatchet with Internet providers such as Verizon over slow streaming video.
Shares of eBay fell over 2% as investors fret over the departure of David Marcus, the head of its PayPal division, who is leaving for Facebook
Earlier this week Amazon launched a new service that's expected to go head-to-head with PayPal. It will allow customers to automatically pay recurring charges, such as phone bills, with their Amazon accounts.
RadioShack is struggling to find any signs of life and currently trades under $1.40 U.S. -- almost penny stock territory. The company dropped about 12% after disclosing a loss and plunging same-store sales due to traffic declines and softness in its mobility business.
The battle over the maker of Botox also continues to boil, with Allergan rejecting a sweetened buyout bid worth $53 billion U.S. from Valeant Pharmaceuticals and activist hedge fund investor Bill Ackman.
Allergan shares were unchanged after once again concluding the offer "substantially undervalues" the company.
Chico's spiked 8% after the Financial Times reported the women's retailer has huddled with private-equity firms in recent weeks about a possible buyout.
Best Buy rallied 2% after hiking its dividend by 12% to 19 cents U.S. per share thanks to its stronger cash position. Last month, Best Buy blamed another drop in quarterly sales on a shortage of new products emerging from Silicon Valley.
FedEx inched lower even after the shipping giant hiked its dividend by 33% to 20 cents U.S. a share.
For the first time since 2008, MetLife is returning cash to shareholders via a stock buyback program. MetLife's new repurchase plan is valued at about $1 billion U.S.. The stock was up slightly.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were lower Tuesday, raising yields to 2.64% from Monday’s 2.61%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gathered 14 cents to $104.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices increased $7.20 at $1,261.10 U.S. an ounce.
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