Daily Wrap-up: Bumpy ride for oil leads to flat TSX

Bumpy ride for oil leads to flat TSX... Canadian Oil Sands needs time to consider offers... Mortgage rates start to rise ahead of Fed... Maple Leaf to cut 400 jobs...

Steve Randall
Bumpy ride for oil leads to flat TSX
The main index of the Toronto Stock Exchange was trading lower for much of Wednesday’s session as oil prices declined following strong gains Tuesday.

Wall Street was also dragged lower by energy stocks and the New York markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving before re-opening for a half-day Friday.

Asian markets closed their day largely lower as geopolitical concerns weighed but Europe saw a sharp rise in stocks. London’s FTSE was boosted by the UK’s finance minister (chancellor) George Osbourne’s spending review which included some positive measures for business and the housing market.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 4.41 (0.03 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed up 1.27 (0.01 per cent)
Oil is trending higher (Brent $46.25, WTI $43.10 at 4.05pm)
Gold is trending lower (1070.30 at 4.05pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7523
 
Canadian Oil Sands needs time to consider offers
Suncor’s hostile takeover bid for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. has some challengers it seems. There have been 25 parties expressing an interest in the company including “four highly credible” ones according to RBC Capital Markets’ deputy chairman Jamie Anderson. The Financial Post reports that Suncor wants the Alberta Securities Commission to strike down the 120 days for Canadian Oil Sands to consider other offers as the company knew of its interest in April and the 60 days given to shareholders on Oct. 5 should be sufficient.
 
Mortgage rates start to rise ahead of Fed
The expectation of the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates in just a few weeks’ time is starting to push Canadian mortgage rates higher due to the link between fixed rate loans and the bonds market. With bond yields rising, so are lenders’ costs, leading to higher mortgage rates. Increasing mortgage costs is one of the areas of concern for economists due to the high level of household debt and fears that those that have paid high prices for homes may have over-stretched budgets.
 
Maple Leaf to cut 400 jobs
Toronto firm Maple Leaf Foods is laying off 400 salaried workers as it seeks to streamline. Most of the job cuts will happen this year with the rest in 2016. The firm employs around 12,000 people and has been undergoing a large-scale plan of restructuring.
 

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