Canada’s main stock index finished flat on Tuesday, lifted by marijuana producers and consumer staples.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was unofficially up 10.88 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 16,067.91.
Energy shares rose 0.1 per cent as oil prices recovered from their biggest tumble of the year. Crescent Point Energy Corp. jumping 6 per cent and Baytex Energy Corp. up 6.6 per cent.
Health care stocks were up 3.8 per cent led by a 6.7-per-cent increase in Cronos Group Inc.. Aphria Inc. was up 6.1 per cent, while Aurora Cannabis Inc. sat 6.4 per cent higher.
Consumer staples rose 0.8 per cent with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. up 2.7 per cent and Cott Corp. adding 2.2 per cent.
Financial stocks lost 0.1 per cent. Bank of Montreal rose 2.5 per cent after its quarterly results exceeded the Street’s expectations, while Bank of Nova Scotia dipped 3 per cent in the wake of its earnings report.
Lagging shares were Canfor Corp., down 9.4 per cent, Interfor Corp., down 7.6 per cent, and Husky Energy Inc., lower by 7.5 per cent.
Wall Street’s three major indexes fell slightly after a choppy session on Tuesday as investors eyed mixed U.S. economic data and corporate news and waited for clarity on issues such as the U.S.-China trade talks.
Weaker-than-expected housing data contrasted with a rosy consumer confidence report, while Home Depot Inc was among the biggest drags on the benchmark S&P 500 index after the home improvement retailer blamed bad weather for missed Wall Street forecasts.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a U.S. Senate Banking Committee that the central bank would remain “patient” in deciding on further interest rate hikes and that rising risks and recent soft data should not prevent solid growth for the economy this year.
The indexes have already been bolstered in recent weeks by trade optimism and dovish signals from the Fed, with the S&P 500’s session high just 4.7 per cent away from its record closing high in September.
“Investors are a little tentative as far as chasing the market higher. They’re waiting for better prices or better news,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut.
He cited issues such as a need for specifics on U.S.-China trade relations after President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods after “productive” trade talks.
Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute in St. Louis, also cited uncertainty over reports that Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen would tell lawmakers this week that Trump asked him about a proposed skyscraper project in Moscow long after he had secured the Republican presidential nomination.
“You’ve higher uncertainty today relative to yesterday,” said Samana. “The economic data was mixed. We’ve had a market rally going on for about two months. All those things together suggest this would be a good time to take some profits. It’s not wholesale selling but profit taking around the edges.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33.97 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 26,057.98, the S&P 500 lost 2.21 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 2,793.9 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.16 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 7,549.30.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors ended lower with industrials providing the biggest drag with a 0.3 per cent drop. The benchmark’s biggest boost was the technology index, which closed up 0.2 per cent.
The healthcare index declined 0.3 per cent after a U.S. congressional hearing on the prices of medicines wrapped up in Washington. Declines in shares of health insurers Cigna Corp and UnitedHealth Group, both of which operate major pharmacy benefit managers, were big drags on the sector.
The S&P’s biggest losing stock was JPMorgan Chase & Co , which closed down 0.8 per cent after it warned of rising costs for deposits, a key part of its business, and slowing global economic growth.
Caterpillar Inc fell 2.4 per cent and also depressed the benchmark after brokerage UBS downgraded the stock to “sell” from a “buy” rating.
U.S. homebuilding tumbled to a more than two-year low in December as construction of both single and multifamily housing declined, the latest sign that the economy had lost momentum in the fourth quarter.
But the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose more than expected in February.
Oil futures inched up on Tuesday after news that OPEC would continue production cuts despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who criticized the producer group for rising crude prices a day earlier.
Prices fell more than 3.5 per cent on Monday, their biggest daily per centage drop this year, after Trump said he wanted the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to ease its efforts to boost oil prices.
An OPEC source told Reuters on Tuesday OPEC would stick to its agreement and push for more adherence from its members and producer allies to tighten crude supplies regardless of Trump’s recent tweet.
The OPEC source said the cartel, along with non-member producers, would continue its supply-cut agreement to balance the market until they see inventories fall to their five-year average. “There is no doubt we will continue with our reduction as planned,” the OPEC source said.
Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, rose 45 cents to settle at $65.21 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 2 cents to settle at $55.50 a barrel.
“After yesterday’s pullback, the market is trying to stabilize again,” said Gene McGillian, vice president of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “We’re basically turning our focus back to expectations of the producer output cuts and also the sanctions on Venezuela continuing to tighten supplies,” McGillian said.
Oil prices have risen about 20 per cent since the start of the year largely on an agreement by OPEC and non-member producers, including Russia, to reduce production.
Reuters