Equities in Canada’s largest centre opened slightly lower on Tuesday as energy shares fell, while investors awaited U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Iran nuclear deal later in the day.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index deducted 31.24 points from Monday’s gains to begin Tuesday at 15,777.39
The Canadian dollar faded 0.49 cents to 77.11 cents U.S.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, reported a first-quarter loss compared with a year-ago profit on Tuesday and said it would change its name to Bausch Health Companies Inc.
Valeant shares galloped $3.86, or 16.5%, to $27.32.
WestJet Airlines Ltd reported a first-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates on Tuesday as expenses rose due to higher fuel prices. WestJet shares were grounded $1.79, or 8.1%, to $20.31.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Shell Gas B.V. unit said on Monday it was selling its entire stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd for $3.3 billion. Canadian Natural Resources shares fell $1.24, or 2.7%, to $44.07.
CIBC cut the price target on Inter Pipeline to $31.00 from $32.00. Inter shares erased 32 cents, or 1.3%, to $23.79.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Morneau Shepell to $28.00 from $26.00. Morneau shares inched up three cents to $25.62.
National then started coverage on Titan Mining with a $2.00 price target. Titan shares were unchanged at $1.30.
On the economic beat, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said housing starts were at an annual rate of 214,379 in April, down from March's 225,213.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.9 points to 773.66
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided in Tuesday’s first hour, with health-care sprinting 3.8%, information technology, up 0.4%, and consumer discretionary advancing 0.3%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by energy, descending 1.9%, real-estate, tumbling 0.6%, and telecoms off 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks opened lower on Tuesday as Wall Street braced for President Donald Trump's decision on whether he will pull the United States from the Iran nuclear deal signed three years ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surrendered 61.67 points to 24,295.65, with Disney as the worst-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 slipped 7.17 points to 2,665.46, as utilities fell 0.7%
The NASDAQ stumbled 15.4 points to 7,249.81
In corporate news on Tuesday, sources told the media that Comcast is planning an all-cash bid for most of 21-Century Fox's assets if the U.S. government approves AT&T's purchase of Time Warner. Comcast shares slipped 2%, while Fox rose 2.5%.
At 2 p.m. ET, Trump will announce whether the U.S. will waive oil export sanctions on Iran. Back in 2015, the Obama administration signed a deal with the Middle Eastern nation to defer those sanctions, while Iran curbed its nuclear program.
The president has threatened numerous times to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran deal unless allies in Europe amend what he sees as shortcomings of the agreement.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell back, raising yields to 2.98% from Monday’s 2.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ditched 81 cents a barrel to $69.92 U.S.
Gold prices docked $7.30 to $1,306.80 U.S. an ounce.
