Equities in Canada’s biggest centre opened lower on Monday after a report said the mood in China over a trade deal with the United States is pessimistic due to President Donald Trump’s reluctance to roll back tariffs.
The TSX Composite Index shed 33.36 points to begin the day and the week at 16,995.11, from Friday’s all-time record.
The Canadian dollar squeezed 0.01 cents higher o 75.62 cents U.S.
Australia's Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd said on Monday it would buy Canadian-listed Barrick Gold Corp's 50% stake in the Super Pit gold mine in Western Australia for $750 million.
Barrick opened in Toronto up 42 cents, or 1.9%, to $22.33.
The Teamsters labour union has given Canadian National Railway notice that it intends to strike starting Tuesday, the two parties said on Saturday, following a stalemate in contract negotiations.
CNR stock, meanwhile, reversed $1.14 to $122.80.
National Bank of Canada cut the rating on Alacer Gold to sector perform from outperform. Alacer dropped four cents to $6.45.
National Bank of Canada cut the price target on Yamana Gold to $5.50 from $6.00. Yamana shares crept up three cents to $4.59.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange switched gears and gained 1.43 points at 528.58
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups were positive, with energy remaining in control, up 1.2%, consumer staples, better by 0.7%, and real-estate up 0.6%.
Only health-care stocks, off 2.7%, and gold, down 0.8%, were negative
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened lower after touching another round of fresh highs last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 17.23 points to 27,987.66
The S&P 500 subtracted 4.23 points from Friday’s record, at 3,116.28
The NASDAQ docked 18.51 points from Friday’s all-time high to 8,522.67.
Boeing Co. edged 0.6% higher Monday after it announced that SunExpress exercised options for 10 additional 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with a value of $1.2 billion, according to list prices. The order adds to the previous 32 MAX planes ordered by SunExpress.
Shares of Ford Motor Co. were up 1.1% after the auto maker announced Sunday its “Mustang Mach E,” it’s first all-electric SUV.
HP Inc. shares sank 1%, after the company rejected a $33.5-billion takeover offer from Xerox Holdings Corp. Sunday, saying the cash-and-stock offer undervalues the company, but said it remains open to exploring other options for consolidation. Xerox shares were down 0.2%, while HP’s stock was 1.6% lower.
Shares of T-Mobile US Inc. fell 1.8% after it announced that Mike Sievert will replace John Legere as chief executive officer effective May 1, when Legere’s contract expires. Sievert is T-Mobile’s current chief operating officer.
U.S.-China trade talks remain a key driver for U.S. equities, with last week’s records supported by rising optimism that a limited, phase-one trade deal will soon be struck.
Stock-index futures were trading higher early Monday after Chinese state media outlet Xinhua said Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the country’s top trade negotiator, held a phone conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday, describing the discussions as “constructive.”
The Trump administration is likely to issue Monday a 90-day extension of a license allowing U.S. companies to continue doing business with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co.
Huawei was added to a federal list of restricted entities earlier the year, which are suspected as working against U.S. national security interests, and its status has been seen as a key issue in trade negotiations.
Meanwhile, China’s central bank on Monday lowered the interest rate on its regular reverse repurchase open market operations for the first time since October 2015 in an effort to boost market confidence and buoy slowing growth.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury were static, keeping yields at Friday’s 1.81%.
Oil prices dipped 48 cents to $57.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $3.20 to $1,465.30 U.S. an ounce.
