Daily Wrap-up: Financials, energy balance out for slim loss on TSX

Financials, energy balance out for slim loss on TSX... TransCanada gets some good news... Valeant to face court on alleged insider trading... Canada’s high-paying jobs are disappearing says report...

Steve Randall
Financials, energy balance out for slim loss on TSX
Financial stocks were among those that gained on the main Toronto Stock Exchange index Wednesday, offsetting weaker performances from energy stocks as oil prices once again headed lower.

The oil rout was on concern that EIA data tomorrow will show higher US crude stockpiles for the seventh straight week. Prices of West Texas Intermediate and Brent were down around 3 per cent.

Wall Street also closed lower on weakened energy stocks and the worst performance from Macy’s since the recession.

Asian markets closed mixed as Chinese data came in largely as expected; European indexes closed higher despite only sketchy detail of the ECB’s policy plans in a speech from Mario Draghi.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 69.70 (0.52 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 55.99 (0.32 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $45.87, WTI $42.96 at 4.15pm)
Gold is trending lower (1084.40 at 4.15pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7541
 
TransCanada gets some good news
It may not take the edge off the disappointing rejection of the Keystone XL project but Calgary’s TransCanada got some positive news Wednesday. It has won a contract to build and operate a $500 million pipeline in Mexico. The natural gas pipeline project will supply the country’s state owned energy company for 25 years from completion in 2017.
 
Valeant to face court on alleged insider trading
Valeant Pharmaceutical is to face an insider-trading claim in the US courts over its takeover of Allergan Inc. Hedge fund manager William Ackman and his company Pershing are also named on the lawsuit which has been brought by Allergan shareholders who sold shares in the two months leading up to Valeant’s takeover bid. Pershing is alleged to have bought the shares with knowledge of the impending bid. The Globe and Mail says that the company has declined to comment. Valeant said it believes that it complied with the law and denies any wrongdoing.
 
Canada’s high-paying jobs are disappearing says report
A report by Capital Economics concludes that, although there are more people in work in Canada, high-paying jobs are disappearing. It says that job creation for prime-age workers in the 25-54 age range has been essentially flat for the past 6 months. Economist David Madini wrote that as those workers are often the highest paid, a lack of increase in those workers has wider implications for the economy.
 

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