Canadian Markets Ends Flat

(RTTNews) - After a weak start and a subsequent swift recovery that resulted in a brief spell in positive territory, the Canadian market fell into the red around late morning on Monday, and finally ended the day's session on a flat note.

The mood was cautious with investors looking ahead to the U.S. Presidential election on Tuesday and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later in the week.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended at 24,256.06, up less than a point from the previous close. The index, which climbed to 24,353.36 early morning, dropped to a low of 24,162.22 at noon.

Energy stocks moved up as oil prices rose sharply. Real estate stocks were the other prominent gainers. Communications shares closed weak.

STEP Energy Services (STEP.TO) zoomed more than 40% after the company announced that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with Alberta Ltd. and the limited partnerships comprising ARC Energy Fund 8 (a private equity fund advised by ARC Financial Corp.) (collectively, " ARC ") to take the Company private in an all-cash transaction.

Nutrien (NTR.TO), TerraVest Industries (TVK.TO), Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP.UN.TO), Brookfield Renewable Corporation (BEPC.TO), Tecsys Inc (TCS.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO), Cogeco Inc (CGO.TO), Celestica Inc (CLS.TO) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.TO) gained 2.5 to 4.6%.

Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO), EQB Inc (EQB.TO), TFI International (TFII.TO) and Boyd Group Services (BYD.TO) also moved up sharply.

BCE Inc (BCE.TO) tanked 9.7%. BCE announced today that its unit Bell Canada has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ziply Fiber in a deal with a transaction value of around C$7.0 billion. The consideration comprises around C$5.0 billion in cash and the assumption of outstanding net debt of around C$2.0 billion to be rolled over at transaction close.

Transcontinental Inc (TCL.B.TO) declined nearly 7%. Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), ATCO Ltd (ACO.Y.TO), Cameco Corporation (CCO.TO), Sprott Inc (SII.TO) and Bombardier Inc (BBD.B.TO) lost 2 to 4%. Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and goeasy (GSY.TO) also ended notably lower.