The Canadian stock market is up slightly in early trade Tuesday, adding to the gains from the previous session. Commodity prices are under pressure today, following yesterday's strong performance. Gold and energy stocks are mostly lower this morning, while healthcare stocks are rising on the strong results posted by Valeant.
Markets in Europe got off to a positive start Tuesday, but have since pared their gains and most have slipped into negative territory.
Markets on Wall Street are struggling to find direction in early trade Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are clinging to small gains, while the Nasdaq has slipped into the red.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 26.68 points or 0.17 percent at 16,118.89.
On Monday, the index closed up 72.04 points or 0.45 percent, at 16,092.20. The index scaled an intraday high of 16,103.75 and a low of 16,033.62.
The Capped Healthcare Index is higher by 3.28 percent. Extendicare (EXE.TO) is rising 0.54 percent.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is surging 15.10 percent after the drug maker beat third quarter earnings and revenue estimates.
"Our strong third-quarter performance demonstrates our continued progress in the turnaround of Valeant. Driven by solid execution in our Bausch + Lomb/International segment and our Salix business, we delivered strong organic revenue growth across approximately 77% of our business in the quarter," said Joseph Papa, CEO, Valeant.
The Capped Industrials Index is up 0.47 percent. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is rising 0.35 percent and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is gaining 0.52 percent. Finning International (FTT.TO) is advancing 3.52 percent and Bombardier (BBD-B.TO) is climbing 1.44 percent.
The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is up 0.36 percent. TELUS (T.TO) is rising 0.69 percent and Rogers Communications (RCI-B.TO) is adding 0.26 percent.
BCE (BCE.TO) is gaining 0.16 percent. The company is acquiring AlarmForce Industries (AF.TO) in a deal valued at $166 million.
The Energy Index is rising 0.15 percent. Crude oil prices are slipping Tuesday morning after a significant rally during the previous few sessions.
Encana (ECA.TO) is gaining 0.18 percent and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) is advancing 0.18 percent. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is climbing 1.17 percent and Enbridge (ENB.TO) is adding 0.09 percent.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is down 0.11 percent. The company announced that its 2018 capital budget is targeted at approximately C$4.3 billion, a bit less than 2017, excluding the Athabasca Oil Sands Project or AOSP acquisition capital. Production is set to rise 17%.
The heavyweight Financial Index is increasing 0.19 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is up 0.23 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is higher by 0.13 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is climbing 0.11 percent and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is advancing 0.54 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is rising 0.09 percent.
The Capped Information Technology Index is losing 0.31 percent. Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is falling 0.27 percent and BlackBerry (BB.TO) is declining 0.50 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is weakening by 1.73 percent.
The Capped Materials Index is down 0.30 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is falling 0.47 percent and Agrium (AGU.TO) is losing 0.85 percent. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) is decreasing 0.57 percent.
The Gold Index is decreasing 0.16 percent. Gold prices are inching lower Tuesday morning, moving back near 3-month lows after a relief rally in the previous session.
Goldcorp (G.TO) is weakening by 0.30 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is falling 0.60 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is losing 2.52 percent.
Centerra Gold (CG.TO) has acquired AuRico Metals for $310 million in a friendly takeover. Shares are weakening by 3.11 percent.
On the economic front, Eurozone retail sales rebounded in September largely reflecting a recovery in food sales, data from Eurostat showed Tuesday. Retail sales grew 0.7 percent month-on-month in September, reversing a 0.1 percent fall in August. This was the first increase in three months and came in better than the expected expansion of 0.6 percent.
Germany's industrial production declined more-than-expected in September, but the output expanded for the third quarter as a whole, signaling a robust underlying trend. Industrial production fell 1.6 percent month-on-month in September, in contrast to August's 2.6 percent increase, data from Destatis showed Tuesday.
This was the biggest fall since December 2016, when output decreased 1.8 percent. Production was forecast to drop 0.8 percent.
Germany's construction sector continued to expand strongly in October, though the rate of growth was the weakest in nine months, survey data from IHS Markit showed Tuesday. The headline Purchasing Managers' Index dropped slightly to 53.3 in October from 53.4 in September.
UK house prices increased at a faster pace in October, data from the mortgage lender Halifax and IHS Markit showed Tuesday. House prices increased 4.5 percent in three months to October from the same period of 2016, following 4 percent rise in three months to September. The annual rate came in line with expectations.
Like-for-like sales in the United Kingdom tumbled in October, the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium revealed on Tuesday - sliding 1.0 percent on year. That was well shy of forecasts for a gain of 0.8 percent and down sharply from the 1.9 percent increase in September.
In commodities, crude oil futures for December delivery are down 0.31 or 0.54 percent at $57.04 a barrel.
Natural gas for December is down 0.026 or 0.83 percent at $3.108 per million btu.
Gold futures for December are down 8.79 or 0.69 percent at $1,272.80 an ounce.
Silver for December is down 0.23 or 1.33 percent at $17.005 an ounce.
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