Stocks in Canada’s largest centre edged lower on Tuesday, including losses for energy stocks after rising sharply on Monday.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 31.73 points to open Tuesday at 13,285.79
The Canadian dollar added 0.12 cents at 75.13 cents U.S.
The Quebec government said on Monday its $1-billion investment in a partnership with Bombardier Inc that is aimed at completing the company's CSeries jet program will be financed through the government's annual borrowing program. The company's CSeries passenger jet program is already years late and billions of dollars over budget.
Bombardier shares lost three cents to $1.23
Enbridge cut 5% of its workforce on Monday, a spokesman said, as low crude prices continued to drag on the North American oil and gas industry. Enbridge spokesman Graham White said the reductions were made across Canada and the United States and represented about 500 employees at all levels and 100 unfilled positions
Enbridge shares fell 16 cents to $49.28.
Kirkland Lake Gold has agreed on Monday to purchase fellow Canadian gold miner St Andrew Goldfields in an all-share deal valued at around $178 million to create a mid-sized, Ontario-focused gold producer. The combined company expects to produce between 260,000 and 310,000 ounces of gold in 2016 at cash costs of between $600 and $690 an ounce.
The deal share exchange ratio values each St. Andrew share at 47 cents, a 24% premium on the company's closing stock price on Monday of 38 cents.
Kirkland Lake shares tailed off 41 cents, or 7.8%, to $4.82, while St. Andrew shares shot up 4.5 cents, or 11.8%, to 42.5 cents.
CIBC raised the target price on Sandstorm Gold to $4.00 from $3.50 as the company reported largely in-line third quarter 2015 results.
Sandstorm shares backtracked 13 cents, or 3.7%, to $3.42.
CIBC raised the price target Gran Tierra Energy to $4.25 from $3.75 based on the company’s agreement to acquire Petroamerica in a cash and stock deal.
Gran Tierra slid five cents, or 1.6%, to $3.08.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 0.03 points to 526.14
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher, with energy leaping 4.3%, consumer staples hiking 3.5%, and information technology better by 2.5%.
The lone negative stock was metals and mining, down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a range Tuesday, weighed by a decline in oil prices amid data and earnings reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average eked up 0.33 points to begin at 17,482.68, with Home Depot and Wal-Mart leading advancers and Caterpillar the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 docked 0.79 points to 2,052.4, with consumer discretionary leading six sectors higher and energy the greatest decliner.
The NASDAQ index dropped 1.92 points to 4,982.7,
Home Depot and Wal-Mart gained more than 3% in morning trade after posting encouraging earnings, breaking last week's disappointing trend among retail reports.
Home Depot posted earnings that topped expectations on revenue that roughly matched estimates. The home improvement retailer reported a greater-than-expected rise in same-store sales both globally and in the United States. Home Depot's earnings outlook for the full year is also above analyst forecasts.
Wal-Mart reported quarterly profit that beat estimates by one cent, with revenue essentially in line. The retail giant's comparable store sales matched expectations, while the full-year forecast is largely above Street consensus.
Dick's Sporting Goods reported quarterly earnings one cent below estimates on revenue that was very slightly above forecasts. Comparable store sales rose 0.4%, missing estimates of 2.1%.
In economic news, the consumer price index rose 0.2% in October, matching estimates.
Home builder confidence fell more than expected to 62 in November.
Industrial production for October showed a second-straight month of decline with a 0.2% drop, missing expectations for a slight rise.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell, raising yields to 2.3% from Monday’s 2.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 72 cents a barrel to $41.02 U.S.
Gold prices faded $3.36 to $1,079.20 U.S. an ounce.
