Equities in Toronto slipped on Monday as shares of energy companies were pulled lower by weakness in oil prices, offsetting a surge in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International after the drug maker announced a major acquisition.
The S&P/TSX composite index worked its way toward breakeven, but was still eight points to greet noon at 15,164.24
The Canadian dollar was off 0.19 at 79.56 cents U.S.
The benchmark TSX was down for a fourth straight session, though the index is still up more than 3% so far this month.
Valeant shares shot up 14.6%, a day after the company agreed to acquire gastrointestinal drug maker Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd in an all-cash deal valued at about $10.1 billion.
Valeant's jump, to $249.05, helped fuel a huge gain in the health-care sector.
Financials fell as Royal Bank of Canada gave back 1.7% to $74.70, and Toronto Dominion Bank lost 1.2% to $53.30.
Shares of energy producers shed strength, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd declined 2.7% to $36.50, and Suncor Energy was down 0.3% at $38.36.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.42 points to 690.52
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by noon, weighed mostly by metals and mining, off 2%, global base metals, trailing 1.3%, and financials, dipping 1.2%
The half-dozen gainers were led by health-care stocks, haler by 4.4%, information technology, up 1.4%, and consumer discretionaries, picking up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks pulled back slightly from Friday's highs to trade mostly lower on Monday, amid anticipation of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's remarks over the next two days.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained negative 38.29 points to 18,102.15, with UnitedHealth leading gains and Boeing the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 dipped 2.06 points to 2,108.24, with energy the greatest laggard and health care leading three sectors higher.
The NASDAQ index turned higher 2.03 points to 4,958, as Apple hit another all-time high, above $130 U.S. a share. The iPhone maker will spend $1.9 billion U.S. to build two new European data centers, one in Ireland, the other in Denmark.
Boeing weighed on the Dow Jones industrial average with a decline of as much as nearly 3% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the airplane manufacturer to "sell" from "neutral," saying the firm is the most exposed in the industry to aircraft demand risk.
Google won dismissal of a lawsuit that had accused it of forcing Android phone makers to designate Google offerings as the default applications.
Dish Network founder and chairman Charlie Ergen will return to take charge of the firm after the current CEO, Joe Clayton, retires on March 31, the company said in a press release on Monday.
In an SEC filing, Goldman Sachs revealed it had received a letter from the U.S. attorney concluding that Goldman had violated federal law in connection with the underwriting and sales of residential mortgage backed securities. Goldman said "reasonably possible" legal costs could be $3 billion U.S. more than it currently has reserved.
Major earnings reporting after the bell on Monday include Agrium, Express Scripts and Tenet Healthcare.
In economic news, existing U.S. home sales dropped 4.9% in January, their lowest level in nine months.
Yellen testifies before both houses of Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Although many interpreted last week's Fed minutes as dovish, one expert said that Yellen will likely remind markets that a June rate hike is still on the table.
Greece's left-wing government, led by Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras, was given a lifeline when the Eurogroup of euro-zone finance ministers reached a deal to extend the country's bailout by four months. To secure the financial lifeline, however, Greece must present a list of reform proposals on Monday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries powered ahead, weighing yields to 2.08% from Friday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $1.24 per barrel to $49.56 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $3.70 an ounce to $1,201.20 U.S.
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