Markets in Toronto shook off the cobwebs of a negative Monday and actually broke even at Tuesday’s open.
The S&P/TSX composite index eked up 4.63 points to begin Tuesday at 15,133.63, after a tumble of more than 130 points Monday.
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.20 cents to 90.76 cents U.S.
A U.S. court ordered drug maker Allergan to produce board documents related to its strategy to counter a hostile bid by William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, the latter of whose stock acquired 33 cents a share to $128.65.
Mackie cut the price target on Capstone Mining to $3.60 from $3.70, with buy rating. Capstone dropped a penny to $2.28.
BMO cut the target price on Turquoise Hill Resources to $5.00 with an outperform rating. Turquoise stock fell six cents to $4.06.
Canaccord Genuity raised the rating on WSP Global to buy from hold. WSP shares gained a dime to $35.39.
Interest rates may have to be about one-and-a-half percentage points lower than they have been historically in order for the Canadian economy to operate at full capacity, the Bank of Canada said on Monday.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that retail sales paused in July, edging down 0.1% to $42.5 billion, this, after six straight monthly gains.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.50 points to 925.59.
The 14 Toronto subgroups were neatly split between gainers and losers, as gold surged 1.3%, materials climbed 0.9%, and energy was 0.4% to the good.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by information technology, down 0.7%, industrials, off 0.5%, and utilities, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock investors remained skittish on Tuesday, sending the main benchmarks lower as investors sought havens such as gold and Treasurys.
The Dow Jones Industrials was down 21.50 points to open at 17,151.18
The S&P 500 dipped 0.73 points to 1,993.56. The NASDAQ gained 5.64 points to 4,533.33.
Alibaba Group Holding fell 1.8% after a more than 4% drop in the U.S. regular session on Monday.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. shares rose 3.43% after it confirmed merger talks with Norwegian chemical company Yara International.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. will release its second-quarter results after the close of markets.
Google Inc. shares inched lower after the European Union’s competition chief said the search company must improve its proposed settlement over antitrust concerns or face formal charges.
In economic data, home prices inched up in July, but growth slowed down, according to data released Tuesday. The U.S. Markit 'flash' Purchasing Managers Index was also due this morning.
Perhaps the biggest drag on the market mood was weak European data, which overshadowed better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing numbers. U.S. airstrikes in Syria on Monday evening against extremist fighters, known as the Islamic State, reminded traders of heightened geopolitical risks.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.55% from Monday’s 2.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 17 cents to $91.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices moved up $8.30 to $1,226.20 U.S. an ounce.
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