TSX Plunges But Ballard Snaps Back -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks continued to fall Monday as investors remained nervous about trade relations between the U.S. and Canada.

The TSX Composite dropped 144.50 points to 16,094, extending last week's losses.

Ballard (BLDP.TO) shares rebounded, surging up 33 percent, as the company denied the claims of a short-seller.

Ballard says the short-seller's report "contained a number of unsubstantiated forward-looking statements, assumptions and opinions, as well as other statements and assertions that are simply false."

Aphria (APH.TO) has agreed to buy Nuuvera. Under the terms of the deal, Aphria will pay $8.50 in cash and stock for each share of Nuuvera, for a total deal value of $826 million.

Elsewhere, Nutrien Ltd. (NTR.TO) said that it agreed to acquire Agrichem, a specialty plant nutrition and plant health product company in Brazil.

Hydro One Limited (H.TO) announced the appointment of Paul Dobson as Chief Financial Officer, effective March 1.

Gold futures fell for a second day Monday, trimming recent gains ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's last policy meeting on Wednesday is not expected to deliver any change or surprise for investors, but many will be paying attention for clues about future rate hike.

February gold lost $11.80, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,340.30 an ounce. Prices have slipped from yearly highs over the past two sessions.