Equities in Toronto gave back some of its strength Tuesday after a long weekend, as progress on a deal that could avert an economically damaging U.S. debt default failed at first to boost investor sentiment.
The S&P/TSX composite index eased 18.91 points to begin a short week at 12,873.20
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.12 cents to 96.48 cents U.S.
Markets were closed Monday for Thanksgiving Day.
A Chilean appeals court has agreed to examine a new appeal against Barrick Gold's suspended Pascua-Lama gold mine that alleges the project is hurting the environment. Barrick shares nevertheless climbed 19 cents in the early going to $18.00.
BlackBerry on Monday sought to reassure customers and partners that it was financially stable and "here to stay," even though it announced massive layoffs and sources say it is in talks to sell all or part of the company. BlackBerry shares crept up three cents to $8.38.
Talks between the railroad workers' union and Canadian National Railway have broken down, raising the possibility of a strike or a lockout by Oct. 28 at the country's largest railroad operator. CN shares dipped 98 cents to $108.51.
Toronto-Dominion Bank is considering an eight-billion-pound bid for Royal Bank of Scotland's American retail banking business Citizens, Britain’s Sunday Times reported without citing sources. TD shares slid 70 cents to $91.81.
Speaking of things economic, national home sales edged up 0.8% from August to September. Figures released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association also say actual activity came in 18.2% above levels in September 2012.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched ahead 1.57 points to start Tuesday at 930.94
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, the former group led by global base metals, up 1.4%, their cousins in the metals and mining sector prospering 1.3%, and information technology climbing 0.7%.
The seven laggards were weighed by consumer staples, sliding 0.6%, industrials, suffering 0.5%, and financials, down 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors moved to the sidelines Tuesday as they waited for developments in Washington and digested a batch of earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 19.84 points, to begin Tuesday at 15,281.40
The S&P 500 index stepped back 4.69 points to 1,705.45. The NASDAQ was up 5.18 points to 3,820.45
On the earnings front, Citigroup was the latest big bank to disappoint investors. The company reported third quarter profits and revenues that fell short of analysts' expectations, sending shares lower. The bank noted that the spike in interest rates over the summer caused a slowdown in new mortgages and re-financings, as well as bond trading.
Coca-Cola shares rose after the beverage maker reported an increase in its third-quarter profit, as global sales volume rose 2%.
Johnson & Johnson shares also rose after the company reported gains in quarterly sales and profit.
Yahoo and Intel are set to report in the afternoon.
Though the broader market was higher, shares of Burberry fell nearly 6% in London after the fashion company announced its CEO -- Angela Ahrendts -- would be leaving for the top retail job at Apple
U.S. Senate leaders have said they have made "tremendous progress" toward an agreement to end the partial government shutdown and raise the debt limit, but investors are taking a cautious approach. Even if the Senate gets a deal, it still needs to win support in the House of Representatives, which is far from certain. And there were reports Tuesday morning that the House may push a separate bill.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.70% from Monday’s 2.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 71 cents to $101.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $10.10 to $1,266.50 U.S. an ounce.
