Regardless whether you thought that observing the first anniversary of the stock market’s bottom was a good or bad thing, Tuesday was likely disappointing: Major North American stock markets ended the day only slightly changed amid a decline in commodity prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average, which began to recover from its 12-year lows a year ago, closed at 10,564.38, up 11.86 points, or 0.1 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1140.45, up 1.95 points, or 0.2 per cent.
Bailed-out financial firms were among the biggest winners, after a report suggested that the U.S. government may be looking to sell its stake in Citigroup Inc. within the next three months – a sign of strength within some of these rescued names. American International Group Inc. surged 12.6 per cent and Citigroup Inc. rose 7.3 per cent.
Sprint Nextel Corp. rose 6.5 per cent on upbeat news that Cisco Systems Inc. has developed a new router aimed at relieving congestion on mobile networks. Pharmaceutical companies were down, with Merck & Co. Inc. down 0.8 per cent and Pfizer Inc. down 0.7 per cent.
In Canada, which is also marking the one-year recovery in its benchmark index, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 11,918.71, down 45.13 points, or 0.4 per cent.
Bombardier Inc. fell 3.6 per cent, but commodity producers exerted some of the biggest drags on the index after the price of gold and oil fell slightly. Among energy producers, Suncor Energy Inc. fell 2 per cent and Talisman Energy Inc. fell 0.7 per cent. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 0.7 per cent.
Financials were also down, even after the Bank of Nova Scotia wrapped up the fiscal first quarter earnings season for the Big Banks, reporting a 17 per cent rise in earnings that topped analysts’ expectations. Scotiabank fell 1.4 per cent and Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 0.8 per cent.
