The Toronto stock market turned lower late-morning Monday amid a muted response to a weekend deal for Cyprus that aims to prevent the country from sliding into bankruptcy and ditching the euro currency.
The S&P TSX index fell 36.14 points to greet noon at 12,721.21
The Canadian dollar improved 0.14 cents to 97.87 cents U.S.
The base metals sector declined with May copper off a penny at $3.46 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals dropped 47 cents to $19.65.
The tech sector dropped as shares in smartphone maker BlackBerry fell for a second session in a row ahead of the release of its quarterly earnings on Thursday. Its stock was off session lows but still down 64 cents, or 4.2%, to $14.55 on top of an 8% slide Friday as the smartphone maker’s new Z10 product officially went on sale in the U.S.
The company’s fourth-quarter earnings give a glimpse into how well the smartphones are selling in Canada, the U.K. and India, though details on its U.S. launch and other markets won’t be part of the financial report until the next earnings period.
The gold sector dropped as Goldcorp Inc. lost 29 cents to $34.04.
The energy sector was down as Cenovus Energy dropped 26 cents to $31.676.
In other corporate news, Dell plans to negotiate with Blackstone Group and investor Carl Icahn over new acquisition bids for the computer maker that rival an offer of more than $24 billion U.S. from investors led by founder Michael Dell. Dell and Silver Lake Partners have offered to buy the company for $13.65 per share.
Buyout specialist Blackstone is proposing to buy the company for $14.25 per share. Icahn wants to buy up to 58% of Dell’s shares for $15 each. Icahn and other investors have criticized Michael Dell’s bid as too low.
AltaGas Ltd. has agreed to pay $515 million U.S. to purchase Blythe Energy LLC, which owns a 507-megawatt electricity generation plant and associated transmission line in Southern California. Its shares fell $1.19 to $34.85.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.86 by Monday noon to 1,108.21
All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups had listed lower by midday, weighed mostly by metals and mining stocks, down 1.3%, while information technology and global base metals each slid 1.2%.
The three gainers were real-estate and consumer discretionaries, each inching up 0.1%, while financials moved only 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks erased early gains Monday, as Cyprus renewed worries about problems in other debt strapped euro-zone nations.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 56.21 points to break for lunch Monday at 14,455.80, after hitting a new Intraday high early in the session.
The S&P 500 index was 2.71 points lower to 1,554.18. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite docked 8.59 points to 3,236.41.
Aside from Cyprus, Dell shares jumped more than 3%, after the PC maker said early Monday that it had received two competing bids to founder Michael Dell's buyout offer.
Both Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprise, and Blackstone Group submitted separate buyout offers, which Dell said may turn out to be superior.
Shares of Apollo Group rallied 8%, after the company reported earnings that blew past estimates, even as enrollment at University of Phoenix declined nearly 16%.
BlackBerry continued to come under pressure, after its new Z10 phone received a lukewarm reception by U.S. consumers. Goldman Sachs also downgraded the smartphone maker to neutral, calling the U.S. launch "disappointing."
Shares of Dollar General rose after the retailer's profit topped expectations.
Best Buy stock rose after the retailer’s founder, who recently dropped a plan to take the company private, announced that he would return to become chairman emeritus.
Cyprus' new bailout program includes a deep restructuring of the country's banking sector, but will also protect deposits will less than €100,000, or about $13 billion U.S. A plan to tax all bank accounts, a key sticking point that had enraged Cypriots, was shelved.
Without a deal, the tiny state risked losing emergency funding from the European Central Bank as early as Tuesday. That would have meant financial collapse and almost certain exit from the euro-zone.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 1.92% from Friday’s 1.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 87 cents to $94.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $4.50 to $1,601.60 U.S. an ounce.
