Canada's main stock index moved earthward hard on Tuesday morning, hurt by a slide in energy and financial sectors amid heightened trade tensions between the United States and China.
The S&P/TSX Composite plummeted 255.95 points, or 1.6%, to reach noon at 16,015.71
The Canadian dollar fell 0.13 cents to 75.55 cents U.S.
Markets in Canada were shuttered Monday for Civic Holiday.
The biggest decliner on the main index was Semafo, which tumbled 30 cents, or 5.5% to $5.14, after the miner disclosed a pit failure in its mine in the Mana region and said the incident will impact 2019 guidance.
Shares of Aurora Cannabis jumped 53 cents, or 6.3%, the biggest percentage gainer on the TSX, to $8.92, after the cannabis producer reported higher preliminary fourth-quarter revenue.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 0.28 points to 595.46
All but two of the 12 Toronto subgroups went south, as energy docked 3.4%, financials shed 2.3%, and industrials were 1.8% weaker.
The pair of gainers proved to be gold, shining 4.2% brighter, and materials, better by 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks struggled on Tuesday to rebound from their worst day of the year as trade tensions continue to dampen market sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its highs of the morning, but was still positive 63.37 points to 25,781.11
The S&P 500 recovered 9.26 points, to 2,854
The NASDAQ recouped 34.15 points to 7,760.19
U.S. equity markets saw their worst trading day of 2019 on Monday. The Dow dropped 767 points while the S&P 500 slid nearly 3%. The NASDAQ plunged more than 3% on Monday.
Overnight, China’s central bank set the yuan’s official reference point at stronger than the key seven-yuan-to-the-dollar point on Tuesday. The move calmed currency markets, initially rocked by fears the U.S.-China trade war was devolving into a currency war.
Shares of companies whose future prospects hang in the balance because of the trade war led the rebound in early trading. Caterpillar, Apple and Micron all traded higher. Ford rose 2.1% after an upgrade by Morgan Stanley.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury regained lost ground, dropping yields back to Monday’s 1.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices slid 22 cents to $54.47 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $8.50 to $1,485 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
