TSX lower on mining stocks, HBC buys luxury retailer Saks for $2.9B
The numbers on the TSX board are shown in this August, 2011 file photo. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
[iframe name="f11fd58ff9e3a02" src="https://www.facebook.com/connect/ping?client_id=404047912964744&response_type=token%2Csigned_request%2Ccode&domain=www.ctvnews.ca&origin=1&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.ak.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D25%23cb%3Df1b3e7d43bf47aa%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ctvnews.ca%252Ff3a1e92666732c%26domain%3Dwww.ctvnews.ca%26relation%3Dparent&sdk=joey" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="display: none;" allowtransparency="true"][/iframe]Malcolm Morrison, The Canadian Press
Published Monday, July 29, 2013 8:58AM EDT
TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market was slightly lower Monday as mining stocks fell back amid lower copper prices.
But the market found some support from Hudson's Bay Co. (TSX:HBC) as Canada's oldest retailer said it is buying U.S. luxury retailer Saks Inc. in for US$2.9 billion, paying US$16 per Saks share plus assumed debt. HBC plans to keep Saks as a separate unit headquartered in New York and open seven Saks department stores in Canada. HBC's other holdings include The Bay and Lord & Taylor in the U.S. Its shares ran up $1.14 or 6.91 per cent to $17.63.
The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 15.85 points to 12,632.05.
The Canadian dollar edged up 0.01 of a cent to 97.35 cents US while traders wait for the latest reading on Canadian economic health. Economists expect Statistics Canada to report Wednesday that gross domestic product grew by 0.3 per cent during May.
U.S. indexes were lower as the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes dipped in June from a six-year high in May.
The Dow Jones industrials fell 31.32 points to 15,527.51, the Nasdaq lost 2.68 points to 3,610.48 and the S&P 500 index was 4.03 points lower at 1,687.62.
The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales ticked down 0.4 per cent to 110.9 in June. The May reading was revised lower by a percentage point to 111.3, but it was still the highest since December 2006.
The slight decline suggests higher mortgage rates may be starting to slow sales. Still, signed contracts are 10.9 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
Traders also awaited a heavy slate of other U.S. economic data this week with second quarter U.S. GDP data being released Wednesday, the non-farm payrolls report for July on Friday and a scheduled announcement on interest rates Wednesday by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Markets are particularly interested in any indication from the Fed on tapering its monthly US$85 billion of bond purchases, which have kept long term rates low and fuelled a rally on equity markets.
Expectations for the U.S. growth data are muted, largely due to the effects of the sequestration, a series of across the board U.S. government spending cuts worth US$85 billion that took effect March 1.
"(It) hit the economy hard in Q2, likely slowing growth to 1.2 per cent from the tax-hike-depressed 1.8 per cent pace of Q1," said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Sal Guatieri, noting that along with spending cuts and the layoff of government workers, "sequestration concerns also undercut business spending."
On Friday, the U.S. Labour Department is expected to report the economy cranked out about 190,000 jobs during July.
Canadian labour data for July won't released until August 9.
Commodity prices turned mixed and the metals and mining component was the lead decliner, down almost two per cent as September copper gave up early gains to head down a penny to US$3.10 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) fell 51 cents to C$24.60.
Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX:TRQ) fell 44 cents or 8.07 per cent to a new 52 week low of $5.01 as it said it's expecting a delay in developing its Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia due to the government's financing process. Turquoise Hill's primary operation is its 66 per cent interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine.
The gold sector was off 1.15 per cent while August bullion rose $7.70 to US$1,329.20 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) faded 26 cents to C$18.02.
The September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 38 cents to US$104.32 a barrel and the energy sector drifted almost one per cent lower. Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) fell 65 cents to $31.55.
The telecom sector led TSX gainers with Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B) down 33 cents to $41.69.
Meanwhile, traders looked to a flood of quarterly earnings during this week from a group of miners and energy companies. Expectations are low since these companies have suffered from low prices for oil and metals.
Miners reporting this week include Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) and uranium miner Cameco (TSX:CCO).
It's a very heavy week for energy company earnings with Canadian Oil Sands (TSX:COS), Talisman Energy (TSX:TLM), Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) and Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) posting results.
European bourses were mixed with London's FTSE 100 index down 0.28 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.29 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.18 per cent.
Earlier, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 3.3 per cent to its first close below 14,000 since July 1, as the yen continued to reverse some its recent fall.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5 per cent. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.7 per cent while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.9 per cent.
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