TORONTO - Mixed earnings results from some of Canada's biggest companies dominated a quiet trading day Tuesday, as the Toronto Stock Exchange pulled back for a fifth straight session in a row.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell a moderate 64.27 points at 15,399.24, as health-care stocks led decliners amid a weak earnings release by drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

The Quebec-based company warned that revenues and profits will drop more than analysts had anticipated for this year.

Shares in Valeant lost 85 per cent of its value last year after it came under scrutiny for a strategy of acquiring drug companies and imposing dramatic price increases. It also faces a series of shareholder lawsuits and criminal fraud investigations by U.S. authorities.

Valeant (TSX:VRX) shares plunged 13.9 per cent, or $3.05, to $18.89 on Tuesday.

In other corporate news, two of Canada's largest financial institutions reported better than expected results.

The Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) reported net income of $1.49 billion, up 39 per cent from a year ago. Its shares rose 2.24 per cent, or $2.21, to $100.79.

Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) had $2.01 billion of net income during the first quarter, up 10 per cent compared to the same period last year. Its shares declined 2.79 per cent, or $2.21, to $77.04.

Four out of the five major Canadian banks have reported strong results so far this quarter. TD Bank (TSX:TD) is the last of the group and is scheduled to release earnings on Thursday.

On Wall Street, major New York indices were barely changed ahead of a highly-anticipated speech Tuesday night in front of Congress by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Colum McKinley, a vice-president of Canadian equities at CIBC Asset Management, said investors are hoping to "get another look" at what might be coming down the road from the new commander-in-chief.

"Potentially, we'll hear more about taxation plans, the fiscal stimulus program, whether or not there will be a repatriation of capital, cash sitting offshore and whether that is used to finance bigger infrastructure spending," he said.

"And potentially we'll have more information about how the U.S. budget will unfold. For Canada, one area that we're watching for is more news on the border taxation issue and what that could mean for Canadian companies."

McKinley said stock markets will react according to how much is touched on in the speech, and whether there will be any concrete details announced.

"There is the chance that we receive no greater clarity than we have today," he said.

If markets react to the downside, McKinley said it could be a positive buying opportunity because economic indicators show growing strength, particularly in the U.S.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 25.20 points at 20,812.24, the S&P 500 was down 6.11 points at 2,363.64, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 36.46 points at 5,825.44.

The Canadian dollar declined 0.67 of a U.S. cent to 75.30 cents US, the currency's lowest close since Feb. 7.

Commodities were mixed as the April crude contract retracted four cents at US$54.01 per barrel and April natural gas added eight cents at US$2.77 per mmBTU.

April gold gave up $4.90 at US$1,253.90 an ounce and May copper was up two cents at US$2.71 a pound.

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2017