Market News Update: Energy and Mining Sector Drives Canada's Trading Resumption in 2024

2024-01-04 16:46:25

(Illustration: Camille Charbonneau)

THE ESSENTIAL NEWS

• Resumption of transactions in Canada in 2024 driven by the energy and mining sectors. Canadian companies in the energy, power and mining sectors are expected to lead a rebound in trading this year, driven by falling interest rates, after a collapse in the he overall mergers and acquisitions in 2023, which have reached their lowest level since the outbreak of avian influenza type 19, according to bankers.

• Toronto home sales fall to 23-year low in 2023. Housing sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell last year to their lowest level in more than two decades, despite a rise in December as high borrowing costs made the market less affordable, data shows of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

• Workers at First Quantum’s closed Panamanian mine threaten to “invade” the site. The union representing workers at the First Quantum copper mine in Panama warned Wednesday of another union’s plan to “invade” the site next week, the latest clash over the now-shuttered mine which sparked national protests last year.

• Walgreens beats Q1 profit estimates on strong core business, but cuts dividend. Walgreens Boots Alliance reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit on strength in its pharmacy business. The company cut its quarterly dividend in an attempt to save cash.

• APA Corp acquires Callon Petroleum for $4.5 billion. U.S. oil producer APA said Thursday it will acquire Permian Basin producer Callon Petroleum in a $4.5 billion stock deal, including debt, as deals accelerate in the most large oil field in the United States.

TRENDS BEFORE OPENING

THE Canadian stock index futures are subduedwith investors awaiting further clues on the timing of US rate cuts, although rising bond prices oil crude oil limited the declines. THE US stock index futures change shortly before jobs reports due later in the day, while stocksApple fall after a rating downgrade. At the same time, the European stocks are progressing with the strength of stocks in the health and energy sectors. In Asian stock markets, Chinese stocks fell due to macroeconomic concerns, while Japanese stocks ended lower as the impact of the earthquake and a plane collision weighed on sentiment. THE American dollar fell as Fed minutes offered little clue on rate cuts, boosting the bond’s appealor.

HEADLINES TO FOLLOW

• First Quantum Minerals Ltd: The union representing workers at the company’s copper mine in Panama warned Wednesday of another union’s plan to “invade” the site next week, the latest clash over the mine today closed which sparked national protests last year. The UTRAMIPA miners’ union said in a statement it was “concerned” about plans by construction workers’ union Suntracs, the country’s largest, to forcefully enter the Canadian miner’s operating site on January 9. First Quantum suspended commercial production at the mine in late November and placed it on care and maintenance, but the company still has equipment and workers on site. Suntracs, which does not represent workers at the mine, has led protests against First Quantum in recent months and supported blockades that have hampered the mine’s ability to source supplies.