Stocks in Canada’s largest centre struggled to reach the breakeven point by the close on Monday, as shares of energy were pressured by a decline in oil prices after U.S. companies added rigs, a signal that crude output may rise further. Weakness in industrials made its presence felt, too.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index squeezed out gains of 12.57 points to end Monday at 15,378.62
The Canadian dollar drooped 0.18 cents to 75.45 cents U.S.
SNC-Lavalin Group plunged $13.79, or 28.4%, the most on the main index, to $34.71. The construction and engineering firm cut its forecast for full-year 2018 profit, citing a problem with a project in its mining and metallurgy unit, as well as ongoing trading challenges in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia.
Stella-Jones lost 18 cents to $41.81.
In the energy field, Suncor suffered a loss of 30 cents a share to $42.05, while Imperial Oil docked 32 cents to $36.67.
Among tech issues, BlackBerry slid six cents to $10.63, while Shopify plummeted $3.82, or 1.8%, to $211.64.
To things more positive, health-care firms strengthened yet again, notably Bausch Health, climbing 53 cents, or 1.7%, to $32.01, while Canopy Growth Corporation towered over Friday’s close by $3.25, or 5.1%, to $67.35.
Among gold stocks, Iamgold climbed 40 cents, or 9.8%, to $4.47, and Alamos Gold, gaining 31 cents, or 5.8%, to $5.64.
Communications issues also fared well, as Rogers cranked $1.08, or 1.6% higher, to $70.77, while BCE improved 29 cents to $56.32.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange popped 10.22 points, or 1.7%, to 614.78
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were stronger on the day, as health-care flexed its muscles 4.6%, gold shone brighter 0.9%, and communications clicked higher 0.7%.
The five laggards were weighed most by industrials, down 1.6%, while energy waned 0.8% and information technology sank 0.2%. Consumer staples shares were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply on Monday after weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and guidance from Caterpillar, as well as a big revenue forecast cut from chipmaker Nvidia, stoked fears about the Chinese economy slowing.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 208.98 points to answer Monday’s closing bell at 24,528.22, as Caterpillar lagged.
The S&P 500 dropped 20.91 points to 2,643.85, led lower by the tech, communications services and health-care sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite lost 79.18 points, or 1.1%, to 7,085.69, as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Facebook all fell at least 0.9%.
Caterpillar shares fell 9.1% after the industrial giant posted weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The company said its sales in the Asia/Pacific region declined because of lower demand in China. Caterpillar is considered a bellwether for global trade given the company’s exposure to overseas markets. The company also issued disappointing guidance.
Nvidia, meanwhile, dropped 13.8% after slashing its fourth-quarter revenue guidance to $2.2 billion from $2.7 billion. The chipmaker said "deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, particularly in China," impacted demand for its graphics processing units.
Nvidia’s decline pressured other chipmakers. Advanced Micro Devices dropped 8% while Micron slipped 2.3%
The two companies cited China as the second-largest economy in the world tries to bat off concerns that is economic growth is slowing. China is also trying to strike a deal with the U.S. to end a trade war that started last year.
These reports come as investors brace for the busiest week of the corporate reporting season. More than 100 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report, including Apple, Amazon and Facebook. So far, the earnings season is off to a solid start. About 70% of the companies that have already reported have beaten analyst expectations
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit of territory, easing yields to 2.74% from Friday’s 2.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slouched $1.49 to $52.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $4.90 to $1,303.00 U.S. an ounce.
