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Roundup: Canadian stock market recovers as health care, resources fare better

Xinhua, November 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Monday recovered slightly from a steep drop Friday, after health care and resources sectors fueled a gain.

Although the stocks dropped slightly in the midday trading, the Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index lifted 93.84 points, or 0.69 percent, to settle at 13,623.01 points.

After shrinking 3.75 percent Friday, Health Care led the increase in TSX sectors by 2.68 percent Monday, when the leading company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. made upwards correction by 8.06 percent to close at 131.88 Canadian dollars (about 100.68 U.S. dollars) per share.

Meanwhile, the energy sector rallied 1.84 percent after the gas and oil company Canadian Natural Resources jumped 2.97 percent to 31.22 Canadian dollars a share.

And another resources sector -- Metals and mining -- advanced 1.6 percent as the most active mover First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rallied 3.72 percent to 7.24 Canadian dollars a share.

And the world's biggest fertilizer maker Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. rebounded 4.04 percent to 27.55 Canadian dollars a share, following a two-day continuous slump in the last week after it lowered its sales volume guidance due to a downbeat earnings outlook.

By contrast, both Telecom and Industrials edged down 0.03 percent.

On the economic front, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) announced that its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index posted 48.0 in October, down from 48.6 in September and below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the third month in a row.

Moreover, the latest reading signaled the sharpest rate of deterioration since the survey began in October 2010.

"Heightened global economic uncertainty and ongoing energy price weakness continues to weigh on the Canadian manufacturing sector," said Craig Wright, RBC's senior vice-president and chief economist.

The Canadian dollar (CAD) was also weighed by the negative impact of the falling energy prices.

According to the latest Foreign Exchange Outlook released by Scotiabank Monday, "We remain bearish on the outlook for the currency as a result. Assuming the Fed reaches lift-off before year-end, we think a combination of higher US rates (and wider yield spreads versus the CAD) and low oil prices will lift USD/CAD to just below 1.40 next year."

On Monday, the Canadian dollar lowered to 0.7634 U.S. dollar, compared with 0.7648 U.S. dollar Friday. Endit