Stocks in Canada’s largest centre moved tentatively forward on Monday, despite losses in mining and energy shares, as investors treaded with caution ahead of the country's monthly economic report.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index squeezed ahead 9.08 points to greet Monday at 16,622.54.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.12 cents to 74.30 cents
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Hexo, which rose 73 cents, or 7%, to $11.21, and Cineplex, which increased 55 cents, or 2.2%, to $25.61.
Restaurant Brands fell $2.16, or 2.4%, the most on the TSX, to $87.33, after the company missed analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit, hit by slowing growth at its Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen chains.
The second biggest decliner was First Majestic Silver, down by 53 cents, to $116.12
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked up 0.84 points to 611.53
Six of the 12 Toronto subgroups remained negative midday, with gold dwindling 2%, materials off 1.3%, and utilities falling 0.4%.
The five gainers were led by health-care, progressing 1.5%, information technology, up 0.7%, and financials, ahead 0.6%.
Energy stocks were unchanged by lunch hour Monday.
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 14.15 points to 26,557.48
The S&P 500 eked up 4.6 points to 2,944.61, and eked out another intraday record
The NASDAQ Composite took on 12.84 to 8,159.52
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.
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 2.54% from Friday’s 2.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped nine cents to $63.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $8.70 to $1,280.10 U.S. an ounce.
