Canadian Markets Report

TSX Looks To Track Global Stocks Sharply Higher




Canadian stocks will look to play catch-up on Tuesday, as global equities soared the day before, while Bay Street was closed for Civic Day.

On Friday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index eased 15.21 points or 0.13% to 11,713.43. The price ofcrude oil was hovering near its 3-month high ahead of a slew of economic data and weekly inventories report from the API. Crude for September was up $0.51 to $81.85 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the price of gold moved up for a fourth session amid a weak U.S. dollar. Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, was up $3.30 to $1,188.70 an ounce.

In corporate news from Canada, Scotiabank said it has completed the acquisition of wholesale banking operations of The Royal Bank of Scotland in Colombia.

Gold mining companies Kinross Gold and Red Back Mining announced a friendly merger, whereby Kinross will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Red Back that it does not already own. The total value of the proposed transaction is about $7.1 billion, on a fully-diluted basis.

Blackberry maker Research In Motion may be in play following reports that the UAE and Saudi Arabia announced plans to suspend blackberry services due to security concerns. Yesterday, the stock shed nearly 2% on the Nasdaq.

Beers and beverages maker Molson Coors Brewing reported higher second quarter net income of $1.27 per share, up from $1.01 per share last year. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.25 per share, compared to analysts estimates for an earnings of $1.20 per share.

British oil and gas firm EnQuest Plc said it would buy Canada's hydrocarbon company Stratic Energy for $45.7 million in an all-stock deal.

Oil and gas drilling contractor AKITA Drilling slipped in to the red in second quarter, reporting net loss of C$0.03 per share compared to net income of C$0.03 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Print and non-print publishing company McGraw-Hill Ryerson reported lower second quarter net income of C$0.19 per share, compared to C$0.52 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Bio pharmaceutical company MethylGene Inc. reported a narrower second quarter net loss of C$0.09 per share compared to loss of C$0.19 per share last year.



In economic news from the U.S., the Commerce Department said that personal income increased by less than 0.1% in June following a downwardly revised 0.3% increase in the previous month.

Economists were expecting income to increase by 0.1% compared to the 0.4% growth originally reported for May. Additionally, the report showed that personal spending decreased by less than 0.1% after rising by a downwardly revised 0.1% in May.