BNN's Daily Chase: Dow enters correction territory; PM touts Toronto for HQ2

The Dow Jones Industrial Average heads into the last trading session of the week sitting 10.4 per cent below the all-time closing high it set on Jan. 26. In the two weeks that have lapsed since then, all 30 Dow components have posted negative returns. Futures are pointing to a reprieve at the start of trading, but who knows how things will play out after the opening bell. The TSX’s own miserable performance continues to be lost for the most part amid all the big-number Dow headlines. But let’s not lose sight of the Composite Index approaching correction territory of its own (down 8.2 per cent from its peak, as of yesterday’s close).

Amid the turmoil, there are buying opportunities. We’ll keep asking investment professionals for their shopping lists.

And just to illustrate the extreme volatility, here’s a snapshot of the intraday point swings on the Dow over the last week:

CANADA SHEDS 88,000 JOBS 

Tough start to the year in Canada’s labour market. At least on the surface. The economy shed 88,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate inched up to 5.9%. Headline figures don’t look great. But have to point out this comes after back-to-back blowout labour force surveys. Meanwhile, in January, all the net job losses were part-time positions, while the economy added 49,000 full-time jobs.  

ANOTHER U.S. SHUTDOWN COMES TO A CLOSE

Republican Senator Rand Paul held things up last night in Washington, venting his concerns about America’s “exploding” deficit – resulting in yet another partial government shutdown at midnight. Paul eventually relented, allowing the Senate to pass a two-year budget agreement and short-term spending plan. And moments ago, the House of Representatives cleared the bill. So, the largely-symbolic shutdown is over and done.  

TRUDEAU PITCHES TORONTO IN SAN FRANCISCO 

Justin Trudeau is leaving San Francisco with some big spending commitments. Salesforce is planning to invest $2 billion in Canada. AppDirect says it will add at least 300 jobs in this country over the next half-decade. But the biggest prize of up is still up for grabs. The prime minister tweeted a picture of his meeting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, saying they spoke about “investing in Canada & creating more high-quality jobs for Canadians.” And speaking with reporters, Trudeau said he “certainly hopes” Toronto lands HQ2. Bezos’ Twitter feed, meanwhile, is absent any comment on his chat with the PM.

IN CONVERSATION WITH ENERGY TITANS

TransCanada’s former point person on Keystone XL, Dennis McConnaghey, warned us yesterday the government’s new strategy for reviewing major resource projects would be “problematic” for the industry. Today, we’ve got more insight on the way from two of the industry’s biggest names. Former Encana CEO Gwyn Morgan joins us at 9:45 a.m. ET. Then it’s ex-TransCanada and Talisman CEO Hal Kvisle at 11:00 a.m. ET. Don’t miss them.

POT STOCKS DISCLOSURE

Presumably, a sigh of relief for the cannabis sector after the TMX Group announced late yesterday CDS will keep clearing trades in shares of marijuana producers with exposure to the U.S. That’s after Canada’s securities regulators announced refined disclosure rules for the industry.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES: 

-Another sign of Amazon's desire to disrupt this morning. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Jeff Bezos's company is poised to launch an in-house delivery service. Shares of FedEx and UPS are falling in pre-market trading.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

Notable earnings: Cameco, CAE, Emera

Notable data: Canadian labour force survey

2:45 p.m. ET: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley speaks to steel workers in Calgary

U.S. International Trade Commission to release reasons for CSeries decision

Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.