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TSX, loonie soar as oil prices rebound

Feb 3 Canada’s main stock index rose on Wednesday as a bounce in crude oil prices helped support the resource-linked market, while Rona Inc surged almost 100 percent after its takeover by US retailer Lowe’s Companies Inc was announced.

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The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 232.11 points, or 1.83%, to 12,442.26, with many sectors posting heavy losses. It included a 1.4 percent advance for the energy group.

“Hope is extinguished for now, as the now two-day fall in crude has regained the market’s focus”, John Briggs, head of Americas fixed income strategy at RBS, wrote in a note to investors.

In New York, the major indexes were down but by less than one per cent. The Dow Jones Industrials average was down 154.02 points at 16,295.16, the broader S&P 500 index declined 13.66 points to 1,925.72 and the Nasdaq lost 28.12 points to 4,258.43.

Kinsey said he likes the prospects for pipeline companies and feels they are being unfairly punished by association with the struggling energy industry.

February began on a sour note for North American stock markets amid a sharp drop in oil prices and disappointing reports on manufacturing at home and overseas. Crescent Point Energy Corp (TSE:CPG) shares were enjoying a bit of a rally, trading 5.05 % higher or up at $14.63 per share on volume of 1.8 million shares traded. Oil is sinking back towards $33.00 USA a barrel.

Commodities strengthened, with the March contract for benchmark crude oil up $2.41 at US$32.29 a barrel after having fallen $3.74 a barrel over the two previous sessions.

USA stock futures are looking weak and many global stock markets are slipping.

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Economically speaking, the USA federal Bureau of Economic Analysis will post national personal income and spending data for December early this morning.

Markets open February on a sour note