Equities in Canada’s largest market fell on Monday as lower oil prices weighed on energy shares and as Restaurant Brands International Inc declined after reporting quarterly earnings.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 39.22 points to greet noon Monday at 14,899.82, Last week, the index rose 2.4%, while Friday's close was the highest in 16 months.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.25 cents to 74.72 cents U.S.
The owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons reported a second straight quarter of decline in comparable sales at Burger King in the United States and Canada. Restaurant Brands International shares fell 3.3% to $60.55.
Toronto-Dominion Bank and TD Ameritrade are buying Scottrade Financial Services for $4 billion U.S. in a deal that would combine two of the biggest U.S. discount brokerages, the companies said. Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank rose 0.5% to $60.30.
The biggest drags on the index included some of the country's major energy pipeline companies. Enbridge Inc fell 1.3% to $58.00 and TransCanada Corp declined 1.6% to $61.82.
Barrick Gold fell 2.4% to $22.03, while spot gold was down as the U.S. dollar reached a nearly nine-month high against a basket of major currencies.
The European Union has given Belgium until late on Monday to overcome opposition to a free trade deal with Canada from its French-speaking region or a summit to sign the pact that could boost both economies is off.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale sales advanced 0.8% to $56.8 billion in August, a fifth consecutive gain. Five of the seven sub-sectors, representing 80% of total wholesale
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 4.69 points to 785.88
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with consumer staples sprinting 0.9%, while information technology and utilities each up 0.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, down 2.2%, materials, sliding 1.4%, and energy, slumping 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks started the week on the right foot, trading higher on Monday after a slew of corporate news.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 49.04 – off its highs of the morning -- to 18,194.75, with 3M and Boeing contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 gained 5.77 points to 2,146.93, with information technology rising 1% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ composite index gained 39.31 points to 5,296.71
AT&T reached a deal to buy Time Warner on Saturday for more than $85 billion U.S., or $107.50 per share. The combination brings Time Warner full circle back to the heady days of the first Dotcom bubble, when it created a merger of equals with AOL— which failed spectacularly in achieving its goals and resulted in an eventual breakup.
TD Ameritrade also announced it's buying Scottrade for $4 billion U.S. in a two-step deal with TD Bank. TD Ameritrade said said it would end up paying $2.7 billion U.S. for Scottrade's brokerage business after the sale of Scottrade Bank to Toronto-Dominion Bank's U.S. banking unit for $1.3 billion.
Meanwhile, airplane interior maker B/E Aerospace saw its stock surge about 15% in midday trade after announcing it's being bought out by Rockwell Collins for $6.4 billion U.S.
Earnings season continued with T-Mobile, VF Corp, Restaurant Brands and Kimberly-Clark all reporting quarterly results before the bell. Visa and Zions Bancorp are among the firms scheduled to post results after the bell after the close. This week will be the busiest one of the season, with more than 160 S&P companies and 13 Dow components scheduled to report.
The economic data calendar was light on Monday, with only the IHS Markit manufacturing index's flash read for October released. The number rose to 53.2 from a three-month low of 51.5, which was hit in September.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slumped, raising yields 1.77% from Friday’s 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.09 at $49.76 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices lost five dollars to $1,262.70 U.S. an ounce.
