Stocks in Canada’s biggest market were barely lower in morning trade on Monday, with investors pulling back from major banks ahead of their earnings later in the week, while gold miners and energy stocks gained with higher commodity prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 28.64 points to greet noon at 15,504.83. The index is trading near its lowest since Feb. 8, after hitting an all-time high last week.
The Canadian dollar moved higher 0.11 cents at 76.32 cents U.S.
Magna International advanced 2.1% to $57.62 after falling sharply on Friday, when the index notched its steepest fall in over five months.
Bank of Nova Scotia fell 0.7% to $79.82 and Bank of Montreal slipped 0.4% to $99.55. Both banks are due to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday.
Toronto-Dominion Bank, which reports on Thursday, lost 0.8% to $68.74 and National Bank of Canada, which reports on Wednesday, declined 0.4% to $99.55.
Barrick Gold advanced 1.3% to $25.93 and Goldcorp Inc advanced 2% to $22.14.
Enbridge advanced 1.2% to $54.84 after announcing the completion of its acquisition of Spectra Energy.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International advanced 3.2% to $21.87 after the company said it would expand by 40% the sales force for its Salix gastrointestinal unit.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked up 0.55 points to 836.82
Eight of the 12 subgroups were lower by noon, as utilities dipped 1.2%, while real-estate and consumer staples each lost 0.9%.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 2.1%, while materials advanced 0.9%, and health-care gained 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities alternated between gains and losses on Monday as Wall Street looked ahead to a key speech from President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 15.45 points from Friday’s all-time high at 20,806.31, with IBM weighing the most.
The S&P 500 ditched 1.14 points to 2,366.20, with telecommunications falling 1.3% to lead decliners.
The NASDAQ slid 0.92 points to 5,844.39.
In corporate news, Goldman Sachs downgraded Tesla to sell from neutral, delays in the large-scale production of the Model 3. Tesla's stock declined more than 4% in afternoon trade.
Trump is set to speak at a joint Congress session on Tuesday, with investors looking for clues about the administration's plans for tax reform and deregulation.
In economic news, durable goods orders rose 1.8% in January, slightly above the expected 1.7% increase. Also on the economic calendar are pending home sales data and a speech from Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan, a voting member on the central bank's policymaking committee.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note weakened, lifting yields to 2.35% from Friday’s 2.32%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 26 cents to $54.25 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $5.70 to $1,264.00 U.S. an ounce.
