Markets in Canada’s biggest centre took a header soon after the opening on Monday, as pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong weighed on Asia-exposed stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index faltered 121.87 points, to begin Monday at 14,904.90
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.02 cents to 89.68 cents U.S.
Encana said it would buy Athlon Energy for $7.1 billion in cash, excluding debt, as it accelerates its plan to focus on more-lucrative oil and natural-gas liquids. Encana shares soared 70 cents, or nearly 3%, to $24.29.
Limited crude supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, have prompted pipeline company Enbridge Inc to implement new steps to increase the flow into the storage hub and delivery point for U.S. crude oil futures. Enbridge shares dipped 56 cents, or just over 1%, to $53.28.
Barclays raised the target price on Canadian Pacific Railway to $240.00 from $220.00. CP shares fell $1.93 to $224.00
Goldman Sachs resumes coverage on CGI Group with a buy rating. CGI shares nicked up six cents to $37.88.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.12 points to 915.30
All 14 Toronto subgroups gave way soon after the opening bell, with global base metals dipping 1.5%, metals and mining weakening 1.4%, and telecoms down 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday as investors turned to safe havens and unloaded risky assets like equities as unrest in Hong Kong outweighed better-than-expected consumer confidence data.
The Dow Jones Industrials skidded 101.21 points to 17,011.94
The S&P 500 dropped 9.8 points to 1,973.05. The NASDAQ let go of 14.18 points to 4,498.01.
DreamWorks Animation SKG surged 18% after The Hollywood Reporter said Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is looking to acquire the animation studio.
Athlon Energy Inc jumped 24% on news Encana Corp. will buy it for $5.93 billion in cash.
Shares of Ambit Biosciences Corp. climbed 86% to $15.22 on news Daiichi Sankyo Co. will buy Ambit for about $315 million U.S. in cash.
European Union regulators are expected to publish a report as soon as Monday showing that the tax practices of Apple Inc. Fiat SpA violated EU law, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Apple shares fell 1.4%.
Late Friday, Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer said the company is reviewing a letter from activist investor Starboard Value, urging it to merge with AOL Inc. Shares were 0.8% lower.
Options contracts on shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. are expected to become available on Monday. Shares fell 1.8% on Monday.
Janus Capital Group Inc. shares fell 4.2%. On Friday, Pimco founder Bill Gross said he would leave Pimco to take a job at Janus. Morgan Stanley upgraded Janus shares to equal weight
On the economic front, U.S. consumer spending rebounded in August as Americans spent more on heavy-duty items such autos and less on nondurable goods like gasoline, while income increased as well.
Pending home sales for August were due out at 10 a.m. Eastern.
At least some of the early unrest in the market stemmed from violent pro-democracy clashes in Hong Kong over the weekend and on Monday, which forced some banks and businesses to close and pushed the Hang Seng Index 1.9% lower. Meanwhile, the dollar eased after hitting its highest level in more than six years against the yen on the perception that the U.S. central bank is looking stronger than its peers around the globe.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.48% from Friday’s 2.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 31 cents to $93.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $4.20 to $1,219.60 U.S. an ounce.
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