Disney, Apple in Focus
Stocks in Canada's largest market recovered from an early tumble Monday, as energy stocks retreated following the failure of a weekend meeting of oil-producing countries to agree an output freeze.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 2.85 points to begin a new week at 13,634.35
The Canadian dollar moved lower 0.36 cents to 77.66 cents U.S.
Spain's Abertis said on Monday that, together with a unit of Brookfield Asset Management, it will launch a bid for the shares of Brazil's Arteris it doesn't already own for 10.15 reais ($2.87 U.S.) per share.
Meanwhile, Sky News reported on Saturday that Brookfield, CVC Capital Partners and Qatar's QIA have abandoned a secret plan to bid for British supermarket group J.Sainsbury Plc
Brookfield shares began Monday off nine cents to $42.88.
National Bank Financial initiates coverage on Prometic Life with an outperform rating. Prometic shares docked three cents to $3.18.
Barclays raised target price on ARC Resources to $21.00 from $19.00.
ARC shares fell 44 cents, or 2.4%, to $17.99.
Barclays raised the target price on Crescent Point Energy to $22.00 from $15.00. Crescent Point shares slipped two cents to $18.92.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that foreign investment in Canadian securities reached $15.9 billion in February, mostly Canadian-dollar-denominated instruments.
At the same time, Canadian investors kept buying foreign securities by adding $4.4 billion to their holdings, following a $14.7-billion divestment in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 1.65 points to 635.49
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups registered positive numbers in the first hour, with metals and mining galloping 2%, consumer discretionary issues up 0.4%, and utilities gaining 0.3%.
The four laggards were led by gold, which dulled in price 1%, while energy descended 0.4%, and materials sagged 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a range Monday, with consumer discretionary leading, as the major averages attempted to shake off pressure from a decline in oil prices following producers' failure to agree on an output freeze.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 42.97 points to begin the session at 17,940.43.
The S&P 500 gained 2.8 points to 2,083.53. Consumer discretionary traded about 0.5% higher to lead S&P 500 advancers.
Financials was the second-best performing sector in morning trade.
The NASDAQ index regained 9.41 points to 4,947.63, as shares of Amazon.com rose
Shares of Walt Disney rose more than 2% in morning trade to contribute the most the gains in the Dow Jones industrial average, which reversed opening losses to trade higher. Apple contributed the most to declines in the Dow.
Pivotal Research upgraded Disney to buy from hold, saying many investor concerns are already priced into the stock. Separately, Disney's "The Jungle Book" won the weekend box office by a wide margin, taking in $103.6 million U.S. in North American ticket sales and ranking as the second best ever April opening.
Also contributing to gains in the consumer discretionary sector was a more than 3% jump in shares of Hasbro. The toy maker beat estimates by 14 cents with quarterly profit of 38 cents U.S. per share, while revenue topped analyst forecasts by a wide margin as well. Hasbro's results were powered by toys based on "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Shares of Hasbro and Mattel both hit fresh 52-week highs in morning trade.
Morgan Stanley posted better-than-expected earnings per share with revenue coming in roughly in line.
Major oil producers met on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, and lack of agreement initially sent oil prices sharply lower.
However, oil traded well off lows touched overnight. On Sunday, according to Reuters, Kuwait reduced its crude oil output and refining production as part of an emergency plan to help the OPEC member deal with the largest petroleum workers' strike in years.
The news wire also cited a tweet from Kuwait Oil Company's account that said the company had cut crude output to 1.1 million barrels per day from its normal production level of about three million barrels a day.
Economically speaking, the NAHB housing index was reported ahead of schedule, with the housing market index at 58 in April, unchanged from March.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell back, sending yields up to 1.78% from Friday's 1.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.34 a barrel to $39.02 U.S.
Gold prices lost 25 cents to $1,233.74 U.S. an ounce.
DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer
