Canada's main stock index opened lower on Tuesday weighed by heightening tensions in the Middle East and signs that the G20 meeting may generate little progress on U.S.-China trade.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forfeited 46.91 points to begin Tuesday’s session at 16,476.56
The Canadian dollar was up 0.08 cents to 75.93 cents U.S. Tuesday.
Purolator said it plans to invest $1 billion to strengthen its footprint in the domestic market, looking to reach more customers and businesses and keep up in a hyper-competitive e-commerce space.
Onex said on Monday its $3.5-billion buyout offer for WestJet Airlines received approval from the Ministry of Transport, clearing the first of several regulatory hurdles.
Onex shares lost 33 cents to $77.64, while WestJet shares picked up 39 cents, or 1.3%, to $30.65.
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Crew Energy to sector perform from outperform. Crew shares were unchanged at 86 cents.
National Bank of Canada cut the target price Suncor Energy to $56 from $59. Suncor shares sifted off seven cents to $41.96.
National Bank of Canada raised the rating Storm Resources to outperform from sector perform. Storm shares gained three cents, or 1.7%, to $1.75.
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada said wholesale trade increased 1.7% to $65.3 billion in April, the fifth consecutive monthly increase.
The agency adds higher sales were recorded in five of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 86% of total wholesale sales in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.46 points at 587.66
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups began the day lower, as information technology surrendered 0.6%, while consumer staples lost 0.5%, and utilities faded 0.4%.
The three gainers were health-care, up 0.6%, energy, up 0.2%, and real-estate, edging up 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited commentary from the top Federal Reserve official.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 97.8 points to open at 26,629.74
The S&P 500 sank 9.14 points to 2,936.24
The NASDAQ Composite fell 35.3 points to 7,970.39
In corporate news, AbbVie agreed to buy Botox-maker Allergan for $63 billion in cash and stock. The announcement sent Allergan soaring 30%. AbbVie shares slid 10.8%.
New home sales for May were due for release Tuesday morning.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks in Washington early this afternoon, at which time he is expected to discuss the Fed’s outlook on the economy and monetary policy.
Powell’s remarks come after the Fed kept interest rates unchanged last week and said it will “act as appropriate” to maintain the current economic expansion. This led traders to price in a 100% probability of the Fed cutting rates next month.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.99% from Monday’s 2.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 30 cents to $58.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $18.60 to $1,436.80 U.S. an ounce.
