Stocks in Canada’s biggest centre retreated on Tuesday amid weakness in mining stocks and a 10.1% drop in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International as the market reopened following an extended Christmas break.
The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 45.04 points to return from holidays at 13,264.76 Tuesday.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.15 cents to 72.07 cents U.S.
Valeant slumped $15.88 to open at $141.80, on word its CEO was taking an immediate medical leave.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.17 points to 516.66
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups gained ground, led by consumer staples, up 1%, consumer discretionaries, up 0.7%, and information technology, better by 0.5%
The half-dozen laggards were lower, with health-care wilting 2.8%, gold fading 2.5%, and metals and mining sliding 1.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher Tuesday, following gains in overseas markets, as oil and other commodities attempted recovery from multi-year lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average spiked 173.29 points, or 1%, to 17,701.56, with Goldman Sachs, IBM and Boeing among the top gainers.
The S&P 500 gained 17.26 points to 2,073.76. Consumer discretionary and financials gained more than 1% to lead all S&P 500 sectors higher.
The NASDAQ index zoomed 47.98 points, or nearly 1%, to 5,088.97, as biotech and major tech stocks advanced.
As of Monday's close, the S&P 500 was 0.1% lower year-to-date, while the Dow was down 1.7% for the year so far. The NASDAQ composite was up 6.4% for 2015.
Amazon gained 2% in morning trade. Shares of Qualcomm held more than 1.5% higher amid news the chipmaker entered new license agreements with two Chinese firms.
In economic news, home values in October were 5.2% higher year-over-year, greater than the 4.9% annual gain in September, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index that covers all nine U.S. census divisions.
Consumer confidence for December came in at 96.5, topping expectations.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slid, raising yields to 2.27% from Monday’s 2.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 81 cents a barrel to $37.62 U.S.
Gold prices added $1.52 to $1,070.60 U.S. an ounce.
