The Toronto stock market was down slightly early Monday, after a weekend meeting of the G20 countries gave its approval for Japan’s aggressive monetary policy.
The S&P/TSX index dwindled 5.87 points to begin the day and the week at 12,059.68
The Canadian dollar shed 0.24 cents at 97.26 cents U.S.
Meanwhile, investors were keeping a close eye on the release of results from North American companies, including Canadian National Railway Co and Rogers Communications Inc.
CN opened down 68 cents to $97.80, while Rogers faded 11 cents a share to $51.65.
Air Canada estimated a bigger operating loss for the first quarter, and will record an impairment charge of $24 million related to Airbus A340-300 aircraft. Shares in the Maple Leaf airline were grounded 32 cents to $2.68.
Barrick Gold Corp., battling heavy debt and a slump in gold prices, has put three mines in Western Australia up for sale. Barrick shares, battered and bruised as they’ve been over the last week or so, eked 12 cents higher to $18.77.
Eastern Platinum Ltd. suspended funding for Crocodile River mine in South Africa, its only producing mine, due to falling platinum prices and the labour unrest in the country. Eastern shares backtracked half a cent to 10.5 cents.
No major Canadian economic data was scheduled for release Monday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 7.48 points to at 946.55
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups began the day negative, weighed down mostly by health-care stocks, off 0.8%, while the metals and mining and consumer staples each skidded 0.6%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 1.9%, materials, up 0.9%, and real-estate, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were mixed early Monday, following the worst week of the year, as investors parsed through another batch of earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 58.60 points, to begin Monday at 14,488.90
The S&P 500 index inched up 0.33 points to 1,555.68. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite faded 5.32 points to 3,200.74
The Dow's decline was led by shares of General Electric which fell 2% after JPMorgan Chase downgraded the stock to neutral.
Technology stocks were big gainers Monday. Shares of Microsoft rose 3% after CNBC reported that hedge fund ValueAct was going to announce it was taking a $2-billion U.S. stake in the company. That would make ValueAct Microsoft's biggest shareholder.
Caterpillar, considered a bellwether for the global economy because of its size and reach, missed earnings and revenue forecasts. The mining and construction equipment maker also trimmed its earnings outlook for the year, citing a slowdown in mining. Despite the weakness, shares of the Dow component rose slightly higher.
Shares of Netflix were up more than 4%. The company, which is hoping for a boost from its "House of Cards" video series, is on deck to report earning after the close.
Meanwhile, oil services firm Halliburton handily beat earnings and revenue estimates. The stock climbed more than 3%, making it among the top gainers in the S&P 500.
Analysts expect earnings for S&P 500 companies to rise by 2% for the first quarter, according to S&P Capital IQ. But earnings season is far from over. So far, 104 S&P 500 companies have reported, with 70 beating forecasts, 23 missing and 11 reported to be in line.
Aside from earnings, shares of Power One Inc. surged more than 50% after Swiss company ABB agreed to buy the solar power company in a $1-billion U.S. deal.
Investors will also get another glimpse into the health of the housing market this morning, when the National Association of Realtors releases the latest data on existing home sales. Housing reports have been somewhat mixed lately, giving investors reason to pause.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury eked higher, lowering yields to 1.69% from Friday’s 1.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices improved 39 cents to $88.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $30 to $1,425.60 U.S. an ounce
