Markets in Toronto shook off some of their jitters and gained a small bit of ground Tuesday morning, as investors on both sides of the border remained cautious ahead of earnings from aluminum producer Alcoa, which kicks off the U.S. corporate earnings season.
The S&P/TSX composite index crept up 14.48 points to kick off Tuesday at 14,284.81
The Canadian dollar surged 0.25 cents at 91.40 cents U.S., due in part to the Quebec Liberal Party sweeping back into power following Monday’s provincial election.
The party led by Philippe Couillard won enough seats to form a majority government, repudiating separatist Premier Pauline Marois and her Parti Quebecois, and eliminating the possibility of a new referendum on independence from Canada for several years.
A federal jury in Florida ruled in favor of BlackBerry in a lawsuit accusing the company of infringing three patents belonging to Dutch semiconductor company NXP BV. BlackBerry shares eked up nine cents to $8.71.
CIBC upped the rating on North American Palladium to sector performer from sector underperform. Palladium shares backtracked half a cent to 44 cents.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on DHX Media to $6.70. DHX shares were unchanged early Tuesday at $5.16.
In the economic realm, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in February, down 11.6% from January, following an 8.1% gain the previous month. This decrease was mainly driven by lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings throughout the country.
What’s more, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported this morning that housing starts in Canada were trending at 184,476 units in March compared to 191,126 in February – a drop of 3.5%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.94 points to 998.91
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, with gold surging 1.7%, metals and mining up 1.4%, and global base metals ahead 1.1%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by health-care and telecoms, each down 0.4%, while real-estate was off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
After a brutal selloff over the past few days, stocks were reaching around for a bottom early Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14.55 points to 16,231.32. The S&P 500 lost 0.27 points to 1,844.77. The NASDAQ regained 8.09 points to 4,087.84
U.S. stocks closed in the red Monday for a third consecutive trading day. The NASDAQ closed down more than 1% after sliding a combined 3.6% on Thursday and Friday. The Dow and S&P 500 also fell more than 1%. All three major U.S. stock indexes are now negative for the year.
Investors have fretted about stock valuations ahead of what is expected to be lackluster quarter for corporate earnings. The technology sector has been hit particularly hard, but investors were dipping a toe back into the sector after three days of heavy selling.
Shares of Facebook, Netflix and Tesla were all higher in early trading. Biotechnology and healthcare companies were also finding some support.
As investors fled more risky corners of the market, shares of companies that are considered defensive investments rallied. Makers of consumer staples, such as Kraft, Procter & Gamble and Colgate Palmolive, have been popular safe harbors in recent days.
Traders said the recent selling was triggered in part by concerns that stock prices had risen too high given the outlook for earnings this year. But prices may have fallen back down to levels that are more consistent with companies' long-term growth potential, according to one expert.
In corporate news today, Alcoa will report first-quarter results after the closing bell, the first major company to do so.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries slid, raising yields to 2.71% from Monday’s 2.70%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 64 cents to $101.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $12.30 to $1,310.60 U.S. an ounce.
