Canadian stocks hovered near the flatline on Monday, with the market weaving in and out of the red. Mixed economic data out of the U.S., a pullback in U.S. stocks and weaker gold prices combined to keep the index locked in a narrow range.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed the session below breakeven by 2.80 points to 12,037.59
The Canadian dollar fell back 0.04 cents, to just above parity with its American counterpart at 100.03 cents U.S.
Financials were among the strongest of the gaining subgroups, as Royal Bank took on 0.8% to $56.33, while Bank of Montreal grew 1% to $58.26, and Bank of Nova Scotia moved up 1.1%, to $54.70.
Shares of Ivanhoe Mines sank 5.5% to $2.05, after the Mongolian government suspended certain mining licenses owned by SouthGobi Sands. Ivanhoe has a controlling stake in SouthGobi Resources Ltd. which owns SouthGobi Sands. The move is believed to be related to the proposed sale of Ivanhoe’s stake to Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. gained 0.1% to $75.76 after Bill Ackman of Pershing Square reportedly criticized the company for failing to improve business. CP responded by accusing Ackman of ignoring progress it had made.
In the energy sector, Suncor hiked 1.3% to $30.83, while rival Imperial Oil –garnered 1.8% to $44.43.
Gold stocks such as Barrick Gold skidded back 1.7% to $40.79, while Goldcorp surrendered 0.2% to $41.43 and Kinross Gold gave back 1.3% to $9.37.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that foreigners added $12.5 billion to their holdings during February, concentrated in federal government bonds. Meantime, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $2.2 billion, marking the first lessening of holdings in 10 months.
Elsewhere, the Canadian Real Estate Association told us that sales activity rose 2.5% from February to March, to its highest monthly level since April 2010. Hikes in Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton boosted the numbers most.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 27.48 points to 1,432.45, while the Nasdaq Canada index ducked back 1.64 points to 401.54
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day. Metals and mining docked 1.9%, gold doffed 1.5%, and materials sank 1.4%
The five gainers were led by consumer staples and financials, each progressing 0.8%, and real-estate, ahead 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were mixed Monday, with blue-chips holding gains, as investors weighed mixed economic news, corporate earnings and renewed worries about Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrials grew 71.82 points to close the session at 12,921.40
The S&P 500 stepped up 0.25 points to 1,370.51, and the Nasdaq subtracted 22.93 points to 2,988.40
Tech stocks, which have had a strong year so far, were among the worst performers. Shares of Sprint, Google and even Apple were under pressure.
Citigroup shares rose after the bank said it earned 95 cents U.S. per share in the first quarter. Excluding certain items, Citi said it earned $1.11 U.S. per share. Analysts had been anticipating earnings of $1 U.S. per share.
The week ahead brings earnings reports from 84 of the companies in the S&P 500, and 12 of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial average.
So far, bank earnings are off to a solid start, after both Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase topped estimates when they released reports Friday. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will all report earnings later in the week.
Mattel shares fell after the company reported quarterly earnings before the bell that missed expectations.
Gannett shares plunged after the newspaper publisher said it earned 28 cents U.S. per share in the first quarter, down 24% from the same period last year.
Shares of Baxter fell after the company said the Food and Drug Administration has requested additional information, to complete a review of a drug being developed by Baxter and Halozyme Therapeutics.
Nokia shares were down after the company was downgraded by credit rating agency Moody's.
Economically speaking, the Commerce Department reported Monday that retail sales rose 0.8% in March, ahead of analyst expectations of 0.3%, after climbing a revised 1% in February.
U.S. business inventories rose 0.6% in February, following a 0.7% increase the month before, according to the Commerce Department.
An index of manufacturing activity in New York State fell in April to 6.6 from 20.2 in March, according to the New York Federal Reserve bank. The Empire index was much weaker than expected.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, pushing the yield down to 1.97% from Friday’s 2.00%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for May delivery picked up 20 cents to $103.03 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $10.50 to $1,648.40 U.S. an ounce.
