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Stocks gain momentum by noon(Baystreet Stock Market Update (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Energy stocks lead way The Toronto stock market pulled out of the doldrums and moved positive Tuesday, as traders stayed wary ahead of a meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve this week. The S&P/TSX composite index regained 29.86 points to greet noon at 15,512.42 The Canadian dollar gained 0.54 cents to 91.02 cents U.S. In corporate news, an investment group that includes Wind Mobile founder Tony Lacavera and Canadian private equity firm West Face Capital has a tentative deal to buy out Wind's majority shareholder, VimpelCom Ltd., a Russian-Dutch company that has been trying to exit the Canadian market since it was blocked from gaining full ownership of the small wireless carrier last year. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Lacavera, who owns about 35% of Wind Mobile through Globalive, has been attempting to position it as a significant competitor to Canada's three biggest carriers, which collectively have about 90 per cent of the total wireless subscriber base. Wind currently has about 750,000 customers, or less than 10% of any of the Big Three: Rogers, Telus and BCE's Bell The telecom sector on the TSX was down Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Allergan and Pershing Square have agreed on a step toward settling a fight over the makeup of the Botox-maker's board. Allergan will hold its special shareholders meeting as planned on Dec. 18, while Pershing Square and its partner, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, continue their push for control of the California-based rug company. Valeant, based in Laval, Que., has made several offers to buy Allergan, the latest bid coming in at $53 billion U.S. Shares in Valeant dipped 0.5% to $133.59. In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported this morning that Canadian manufacturing sales increased 2.5% to $53.7 billion in July, largely as a result of higher sales in the transportation equipment and primary metal industries. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange stayed negative 4.60 points to 976.90. The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with energy stocks surging 0.9%, materials, up 0.6%, and global base metals, ahead 0.5% The seven laggards were weighed most by information technology, sliding 0.7%, health-care, down 0.6%, and telecoms, off 0.4%. ON WALLSTREET The U .S. equity market vacillated in and out of positive territory on Tuesday as investors awaited signals from the Fed about its future monetary leaning. The Dow Jones Industrials got some traction and revved up 89.79 points to pause for lunch at 17,120.93. The S&P 500 added 12.37 points to 1,996.50. The NASDAQ improved 16.42 points to 4,535.32 Majesco Entertainment Co. fell 17% after a similar drop late Monday when the video-game maker posted a larger-than-expected third-quarter loss. Wynn Resorts Ltd. dropped 2.2%, falling for a third trading session amid declining revenue concerns from its properties in Macau. However, Nomura analyst Harry Curtis noted that Wynn's recent drop has made it a fair value at current prices. Humana Inc. shares rallied 2.8% after the health insurance company unveiled a $2-billion U.S. buyback program that will replace its current share repurchase program. Tesla Motors Inc. rose 1.5% recouping some of the sharp losses Monday when a Morgan Stanley argued that the electric-car maker's stock is overvalued. One analyst, however, advised in a note Tuesday that investors buy Tesla on weakness, reiterating an overweight rating and a 12-to-18-month price target of $385.00 U.S. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting began Tuesday morning and many worry the policy makers will take a hawkish stand on interest rates. In economic news, producer prices were flat in August thanks to falling gasoline and food costs, another sign that inflationary pressure is receding. It was the lowest reading in the producer price index since December, the U.S. Labor Department reported. Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.57% from Monday's 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices gained $1.69 to $94.61 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices recovered $2.70 to $1,237.80 U.S. an ounce. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |