Canada's main stock index regained some ground on Tuesday after Monday's precipitous drop, with banks rebounding and rising oil prices helping energy stocks.
The S&P/TSX composite index added 21.35 points to greet noon at 14,511.50, after a collapse of more than 300 points Monday.
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.46 cents to 80.17 cents U.S.
Canadian markets are to be shuttered Wednesday for Canada Day.
Heavily weighted gainers on the index included Suncor Energy Inc, which rose 1.6% to $34.32, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which advanced 0.7% to $274.86.
The mining-heavy materials group retreated as First Quantum Minerals Ltd, fell 2.9% to $16.39, and Teck Resources Ltd , which declined 3.8% to $12.36.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada’s said our Gross Domestic Product edged down 0.1% in April, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. A decrease in the output of goods-producing industries outweighed an increase in service industries.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed afloat 3.1 points to 670.19.
Eight of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher, as health-care stocks were haler by 1.1%, telecoms improved 0.8%, and consumer discretionaries were better by 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by metals and mining, down 2.3%, global base metals, down 1.4%, and information technology, off 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks held higher in choppy trade Tuesday, attempting recovery from the worst trading day of the year, as investors turned more optimistic on the Greece crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 31.63 points to 17,627.98, with Walt Disney leading advancers and Intel the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 index stayed positive 3.31 points to 2,060.95, with financials leading nine advancers and utilities the only decliner.
The NASDAQ moved upward 19.80 points to 4,978.27
In corporate news, Apple launches its music streaming service on Tuesday. The stock gained about 0.7% just before noon ET.
Towers Watson will merge with British reinsurance firm Willis Group in an all-stock merger. Towers Watson shareholders will get about 2.65 Willis shares for each share they now hold, plus a one-time dividend of $4.87 U.S. per share in cash. The combined company will be called Willis Towers Watson.
Celgene will invest about $1 billion U.S. in Juno. The two will form a partnership to develop treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
ConAgra, the company behind brands such as Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, and Hunt's, matched Street estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 59 cents U.S. per share, though revenue was below forecasts.
ConAgra also said it was taking a new approach to increasing profit margins, and as part of its new strategy, it will pursue a divestiture of its private label business.
The consumer confidence index topped expectations with a 101.4 read for June. Earlier, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed a 4.9% rise in April.
The Chicago purchasing mangers' index missed expectations and came in below the key 50 level at 49.4.
Greece faces a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.7-billion U.S.) payment due to the International Monetary Fund at midnight Tuesday. The prime minister said the government will seek a viable solution until the end and aims to stay in the euro, Reuters reported.
The Greek government also issued a statement saying it has prepared a two-year agreement with the euro-zone bailout fund in order to cover its financing needs, Dow Jones reported.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries regained ground, lowering yields to Monday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 62 cents a barrel to $58.95 U.S.
Gold prices lost $7.20 at $1,171.80 U.S. an ounce.
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