Global equity markets were flat on Tuesday after their worst January kickoff in years as concerns about the global economy weighed on sentiment and pushed traders to seek the relative safety of the low-risk yen.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 7.01 points to close Tuesday’s session at 12,920.14
The Canadian dollar fell 0.19 cents to 71.47 cents U.S.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose $3.82, or 2.8%, to $141.16. Shares had lost 3.2% in the last two trading sessions after a regulatory filing on Thursday showed Bill Ackman, the activist investor who has been a staunch defender of Valeant, trimmed his fund’s holdings of the stock for tax reasons.
Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management sold about five million shares of Valeant in order to create a tax loss for investors in two accounts.
Shares of Progressive Waste Solutions advanced $2.37, or 7.3%, to $34.76 after the waste management company said it was exploring strategic options.
The most influential weights included fertilizer producer Potash Corp, which declined 57 cents, or 2.4%, to $23.62, and FirstService Corp., which was down $2.90, or 5.3%, to $52.15.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported this morning that its industrial product price index declined 0.2% in November, mainly as a result of lower prices for primary non-ferrous metal products.
The agency’s raw materials price index fell 4% in the same month, led by lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange doffed 1.39 points to 524.26
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups finished the day on the downside, with consumer discretionary stocks subsiding 1.2%, with materials and industrials each down 0.4%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by health-care, up 2.9%, metals and mining up 2%, and telecoms, moving ahead 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks attempted to steady Tuesday after a sharply lower start to the year, amid pressure from declines in oil prices and Apple stock.
The Dow Jones industrial average inched forward 9.72 points to 17,158.66, with Wal-Mart leading advancers and Apple the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 moved up 4.42 points to 2,017.08, with telecommunications leading seven sectors higher and information technology the greatest decliner.
The NASDAQ index fell 11.66 points to 4,891.43.
Apple traded about 2.5% lower as one of the greatest contributors to declines in the Dow. This, after a report from the Nikkei Asian Review said the iPhone maker is expected to cut output of the latest iPhones.
Shares of Smith & Wesson jumped more than 10% to hit a record intraday high, following the release of a more bullish financial outlook and amid U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of gun control measures. Shares of Sturm Ruger also hit a record intraday high and held more than 6.5% higher in midday trade.
Autodata reported that car sales posted a record year in 2015 with 17.47 million total light vehicle sales
The key economic report for the week, after Monday's sub-50 manufacturing Institute for Supply Management print, is the jobs report expected Friday. Fed minutes are also due Wednesday afternoon.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were slightly lower, raising yields to 2.25% from Monday’s 2.24%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 90 cents a barrel to $35.86 U.S.
Gold prices grew $3.87 to $1,078.48 U.S. an ounce.
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