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Stocks Change Course to Finish Negative
Stocks in Toronto reversed course and closed in negative territory Tuesday led lower by a 2.83 percent dip in tech stocks while a surge in monthly retail sales boosted investor sentiment earlier in the session.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index shed 20.70 points at 16,163.
Retail sales in Canada surged 18.7 percent over a month earlier in May 2020, rebounding from a record 26.4 percent slump in the previous month but came in slightly worse than the market expectation of 20%. This reading followed an increase of 19.1% in April.
Canadian media company Torstar Corp said late Monday its board has recommended the proposed acquisition by private equity firm NordStar Capital, snubbing an offer of 80 Canadian cents per share in cash from Canadian Modern Media Holdings Inc.
Iamgold Corp. says it is going ahead with its US$1.3-billion Cote Gold mine in northern Ontario as world gold prices reached nine-year highs over US$1,830 per ounce.
Construction of the project, which is 30 per cent owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., will start this summer with preparatory work including fish salvage, camp preparation and road access development.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was Seven Generations Energy Ltd (TSX:VII), which rallied 12.7% after BMO raised its rating on the firm to "outperform" from "market perform".
The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.42 cents at 74.32 cents U.S.
September crude contract was up US$0.22 at US$40.81 per barrel.
August gold contract was up US$22.87 at US$1,840.90 an ounce.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange climbed 10.60 points, or 1.16% to 695.76.
Four of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the green Tuesday with Energy stocks higher by 8.92%, Materials up 0.70% and Gold issues ahead 0.51%.
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On the downside, Tech stocks were off 2.83%, Consumer Staples issues shed 1.64 percent and Real-Estate stocks dipped 1.26 percent.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the TSX 1041 to 686 with 214 issues unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks ended the session mostly higher, giving back early gains in the last hour of trading after hopes faded for a fresh round of fiscal stimulus in the coming week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 160 points, 0.6%, to close at 26,841. The S&P 500 rose 5 points, 0.2%, to close near 3,257. The Nasdaq Composite closed around 10,682, a loss of 85 points or 0.8%
IBM shed 0.25% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Notably, IBM improved gross margins in three of its five units in the past quarter.
Coca-Cola said its profit fell 33% in the second quarter, but the company expressed optimism on demand as lockdown measures associated with the coronavirus were lifted. Shares rose 2.34%.
EBay Inc. said it’s selling its classified ad business to Norway’s Adevinta for $9.2 billion in cash and stock. Shares of eBay edged down 3.22%, while shares of Oslo-listed Adevinta shares were up on the day.
Sentiment was also lifted Tuesday after the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, agreed to a 750 billion euro stimulus package. The stimulus is designed to help countries and sectors in the region most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
On the economic front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June, a composite of 85 indicators, rose to a fresh record 4.11, marking a record high going back to 2000, from a 3.5 in May— representing a level that was raised from the previous May reading. A zero value for the index indicates the national economy is expanding at its historical trend rate of growth.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was up 0.2 basis point to 0.622%, while the 30-year bond yield edged 0.3 basis higher to 1.321%.
