Markets in Toronto endured a lower open on Tuesday, as investors turned wary ahead of a European Central Bank meeting where most investors expect the central bank to signal an easing of monetary policy.
The S&P/TSX composite index began the day down 51.96 points to 13,309.82
The Canadian dollar slid 0.26 cents at 95.70 cents U.S.
Natural gas producer Encana Corp will cut about 20% of its workforce, slash its dividend and invest nearly three-quarters of its 2014 capital spending budget in more lucrative oil and liquid gas assets. Encana shares came flying out of the gate, gaining 79 cents, or 4.3%, to $19.38.
BlackBerry Ltd abandoned its plan to sell itself and said its CEO is stepping down, raising fears the struggling smartphone maker is running out of options. BlackBerry shares recovered 26 cents Tuesday morning to $7.01, after hitting lows Monday it hadn’t seen in a decade.
WestJet Airlines Ltd, Canada's second-largest carrier, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as expenses fell. WestJet shares docked 13 cents to $27.17.
Specialty pharmaceutical company Endo Health Solutions Inc said it would acquire Canadian peer Paladin Labs Inc for about $1.6 billion to expand its presence in Canada and emerging markets. Paladin shares, for their part, leaped $29.84, or 46.7%, to $93.75.
Open Text Corp said it would buy privately-held cloud computing company GXS Group Inc for $1.17 billion. Open Text moved forward $4.02, or 5.2%, to $81.57.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 3.05 points to 949.47
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks drifted lower Tuesday as there were few catalysts to drive the market even higher.
The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 83.29 points at the start of business Tuesday to 15,555.80
The S&P 500 index lost 9.45 points to 1,758.48. The NASDAQ gave back 16.22 points to 3,920.37
Investors did have a slew of earnings reports from top companies to parse through.
AOL was the big winner Tuesday morning. The online media company's stock spiked more than 7%, despite a sharp drop in profits. Investors looked more closely at the company's double-digit advertising revenue growth.
T-Mobile US was also a hit with investors. The wireless company reported growth in quarterly revenue and one million new subscribers.
CVS surged on positive earnings, hitting its all-time high. Its results also pulled up shares of drug store rival Walgreen
DirecTV didn't fare as well. Its stock tumbled nearly 4%, despite reporting a rise in profits and new subscriber growth.
Tesla Motors and 21st Century Fox are due to report results in the afternoon.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Tesla's results. The electric car maker's stock has been one of the hottest market performers this year.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management will release its latest monthly reading on the health of the services industry this morning.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 2.66% from Monday’s 2.60%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 71 cents to $93.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded $2.30 to $1,312.40 U.S. an ounce.
