Equities in Canada’s largest market edged lower at open on Monday, led by losses in energy and mining stocks, as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the country's economy data.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sifted off 1.56 points to begin the week at 16,611.90.
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.04 cents to 74.22 cents
Restaurant Brands International missed analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit, hit by slowing growth at its Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen chains.
Restaurant Brands shares plummeted $2.95, or 3.3%, to $86.54.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Aecon Group to $26.00 from $25.00. Aecon Group shares climbed 34 cents, or 1.8%, to $19.10.
CIBC raised the price target on Fiera Capital to $15.00 from $14.50. Fiera shares nicked up six cents to $12.45.
National Bank of Canada raised the target price on Sun Life Financial to $58.00 from $55.00. Sun Life shares gained 27 cents to $55.45.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked up 1.02 points to 611.71
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups settled back in the first hour of trading, as gold dulled in price 1.3%, materials weakened 0.9%, and health-care paled 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by information technology, up 0.7%, while financials advanced 0.7%, and real-estate acquired 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded along the flatline on Monday as investors braced for a busy week including a flurry of corporate earnings reports, economic data and an announcement from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials squeezed ahead 3.61 points to open the week at 26,546.94
The S&P 500 eked up 1.64 points to 2,941.52, and eked out an intraday record
The NASDAQ Composite took on 4.75 to 8,151.15
About 150 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to release their quarterly results this week, including Apple, General Electric and Qualcomm.
Alphabet and Western Digital will release their first-quarter numbers after the bell on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, Restaurant Brands reported weaker-than-expected earnings after a surprise drop in Tim Hortons sales, sending its shares down 2.9%. Spotify Technology posted a bigger-than-forecast loss, but its stock went up 2.4% as the company also said it reached 100 million subscribers for its premium service.
So far, 231 companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results. Of those companies, 77.5% have topped analyst expectations. The reported earnings growth rate, meanwhile, is around 1%, well above the expected 4.2% drop.
The Federal Reserve is also set to hold a monetary policy meeting this week. Investors will be looking for clues about the central bank’s plan for its balance sheet moving forward, as well as hints on where Fed officials think the economy is headed.
Market expectations for a Fed rate hike are zero, while expectations for no change in the overnight rate are at 97%
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were sharply down, raising yields to 2.53% from Friday’s 2.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 20 cents to $63.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $7.60 to $1,281.20 U.S. an ounce.
