Things were flat on Bay Street today as Wall Street took a tumble.
The TSX got boosts from the financial and medical sectors with Valeant Pharmaceuticals getting a bump after the company’s new drug for plaque psoriasis was approved. On the other hand the energy sector was down, despite higher oils prices, and the TSX closed the day up just six points to 15,653.
South of the border disappointing U.S. retail sales numbers for February conspired with ongoing worries over the possibility of American tariffs on Chinese imports and a potential trade war to drag the Dow Jones down. It finished the day at 24,758, losing 248 points.
February was the third month in a row American retail numbers fell. House prices in Canada also fell last month, reversing course after gains the previous two months. They were down 0.1 per cent with seven of 11 cities in the survey reporting declines.
At presstime oil is up 21 cents to $60.92 U.S per barrel, gold is down $1.30 to $13.25.80 and the loonie is up some, a tenth of a cent, to 77.22 cents U.S.
