Markets in Toronto dipped a bit at the outset on Monday, even as expectations of economic improvements in Japan and the United States overshadowed concerns of an economic slowdown in China.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index began the day and the week down 31.45 points to 12,341.85
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.13 cents to 97.98 cents U.S.
Air Canada said it is moving ahead with plans to trim its costs by up to some 15% over the medium term, even as it pushes ahead with plans to boost its system capacity over the coming year. Air Canada shares took on five cents to $2.32
Bombardier Inc. has moved its CSeries jet to its Mirabel flight test center near Montreal ahead of a maiden flight scheduled for the end of June. Bombardier shares were unchanged at $4.92
Among tech companies, Wi-Lan traveled 20 cents, or 4.8%, higher to $4.34.
Among gold plays – which again took a big hit at the opening – Barrick Gold plummeted $1.31, or 6.1%, to $20.36. Agnico Eagle Mines lost $2.65, or 7.8%, to $31.51.
Speaking of things economic, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this morning hat housing starts in Canada were trending at 182,756 units in May compared to 182,971 in April, The standalone monthly seasonally-adjusted annual rates was 200,178 units in May, an increase from 175,922 in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.37 points to 947.03
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, the former half led by information technology and utility stocks, each up 0.9%, while health-care issues increased 0.5%.
The seven laggards were anchored by gold, off 5.5%, the metals and mining group, sliding 4.1%, and materials, down 3.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were flat Monday, as investors reconsidered the health of the economy following big gains Friday after a good, though not great, jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials eased back 31.41 points to begin the day at 15,216.70
The S&P 500 index eked up 0.96 points to 1,644.34. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite dipped 0.01 points to 3,469.21
Shares of Booz Allen Hamilton fell more than 4% after a former employee admitted to disclosing classified information obtained while working for the National Security Agency.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple is expected to unveil an update to its iOS mobile operating system, a new "iRadio" streaming music service, a refreshed MacBook lineup and potentially an Apple TV update. Shares rose in early trading.
Electric car maker Tesla Motors, whose shares have soared more than 150% in the last three months, fell after a report in Barron's suggested the runup had left shares greatly overvalued.
Shares of McDonald's edged higher after the fast food chain said global sales rose 2.6% in May.
Apparel maker lululemon athletica is set to report its quarterly results after the close. The company recently brought back a line of yoga pants to shelves that had been recalled due to a problem that caused the pants to be translucent.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.20% from Friday’s 2.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hesitated 58 cents to $95.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $4.10 to $1,378.90 U.S. an ounce
