Equities in Toronto fell on Tuesday as wary investors shied away from energy stocks as oil prices dipped and took profits on Canadian railways after they reported stronger than expected quarterly results.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 93.68 points to greet noon at 15,318.92
The Canadian dollar slid 0.32 cents to 81.44 cents U.S.
Shares in the country's two main railways, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, rose on Monday ahead of their first-quarter earnings reports.
On Tuesday, CN Rail declined 3.1% to $80.75, after climbing nearly 3% the day before. CP Rail fell 0.8% to $235.32 after its Monday rise.
Brookfield Asset Management, which said on Monday it is raising $1.1 billion through a new equity issue to help fund growth, fell 3.9% to $67.93.
Teck Resources was another top mover, after the mining company slashed its dividend and posted a quarterly profit that was below expectations. Shares fell 5.5% to $15.99.
The index's energy group retreated as oil prices slipped on a stronger U.S. dollar. Suncor Energy Inc fell 0.8% to $39.94, and Canadian Natural Resources declined 1.1% to $40.49.
On things economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that wholesale trade slumped again in February, this time by 0.4% to $53.6 billion, a six-month low. Sales were down in three of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 51% of wholesale sales.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved lower 2.25 points to 701.40
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by noon, with metals and mining plummeting 2.5%, industrials listing lower 1.8%, and energy off 1.7%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, up 1%, information technology and gold were each up 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mixed on Tuesday, mostly failing to hold momentum from Monday as investors eyed a slew of earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials sank 70.06 points to 17,964.87, after a gain of more than 1% Monday, weighed by FX headwinds on DuPont's earnings and IBM's continued decline in revenue.
The S&P 500 index shed 2.50 points to 2,097.90, with materials leading seven sectors lower and health-care leading advancers.
The NASDAQ index remained positive 19.13 points to 5,013.73, outperforming the major indices as Facebook extended gains by more than 1% ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday after the bell.
DuPont earned an adjusted $1.34 U.S. per share for the first quarter, five cents above estimates, though revenue was below forecasts. DuPont said quarterly results were impacted negatively by 25 cents U.S. from the stronger dollar. Additionally, DuPont also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend by 4% to 59 cents U.S. per share.
United Technologies beat estimates by 13 cents U.S. with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.58 U.S. per share, with revenue slightly below forecasts. UTC said it had a good start to the year despite ongoing headwinds from currency effects.
Kimberly-Clark reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.42 U.S. per share, nine cents above estimates, with revenue also above forecasts. The personal care products maker also warned that currency effects will cut its 2015 operating profit by 10% to 11%.
Verizon beat forecasts by seven cents with quarterly profit of $1.02 U.S. per share, though revenue fell slightly short. Verizon's wireless operation also added 565,000 subscribers in the quarter compared to a year earlier.
IBM reported adjusted quarterly profit of $2.91 U.S. per share, 11 cents above estimates. Revenue was essentially in line with estimates, though it did fall for the 12th straight quarter as IBM continues its transformation toward cloud-based businesses.
Hormel said its turkey supply chain has been significantly disrupted due to avian flu outbreaks in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Hormel is sticking with its prior fiscal 2015 earnings guidance, but did say it expects results toward the lower end of its projected range.
In more merger and acquisitions in the sector, generic drug maker Teva announced an $82 U.S. per share offer for Mylan on Monday.
Amgen, Yahoo, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Discover Financial, Illumina, Yum Brands, Cree, iRobot report after the bell.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries sagged, raising yields to 1.90% from Monday’s 1.88%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped nine cents to $56.29 U.S.
Gold prices gained $1.80 to $1,195.50 U.S.
