Equities in Toronto backpedaled to end a mostly negative February, weighed mostly on Tuesday by energy and industrial issues.
The TSX shed 38.94 points to close Tuesday at 20,221.19.
The Canadian dollar doffed 0.38 cents to 73.28 cents U.S.
Energy proved the biggest burden on the market Tuesday. Baytex Energy sank 53 cents, or 9.1%, to $5.30, while Africa Oil dipping 11 cents, or 3.8%, to $2.79.
In the industrial sector, Canadian National Railway moving backward $1.89, or 1.2%, to $155.51, while Waste Connections dumped $2.14, or 1.2%, to $182.35.
Utilities also were walloped, ATCO retreated 63 cents, or 1.5%, to $42.41, while Fortis dipped 76 cents, or 1.5%. to $42.41.
Materials tried to right the ship, with Algoma Steel climbing 76 cents, or 7.4%, to $11.09, while First Quantum Minerals solidified $1.99, or 7.1%, to $29.91.
Gold stocks prospered, most notably, Eldorado Gold, up 38 cents, or 3.1%, to $12.70, while Torex Gold rebuilt 71 cents, or 4.4%, to $16.75.
Health-care stocks climbed, too, as Cronos Group muscled up 10 cents, or 3.5%, to $2.96, while Tilray grabbed nine cents, or 2.4%, to $3.82.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that our Gross Domestic Product was nearly unchanged in the fourth quarter, following five consecutive quarterly increases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained a solid 5.63 points to 630.46.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups fell, with energy down 1%, utilities off 0.7%, industrials falling 0.6%.
The four gainers were headed by materials, progressing 1.3%, gold, reclaiming 1.2%, and health-care, up 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The major averages fell on Tuesday to round out a tough month for the stock market.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 232.39 points to 32,656.70.
The S&P 500 fell 12.09 points to 3,970.15.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 11.44 points to 11,455.54.
Stock buybacks are one of the core tenets of a bullish case for the market in 2023, as some expect buybacks to top $1 trillion for the first time.
One area where buyback announcements have been strong is the energy sector, where Occidental Petroleum on Monday announced a new $3 billion authorization for buybacks and a dividend hike.
Pandemic-darling Zoom Communications posted better-than-expected earnings and a solid outlook Monday after the bell. But it wasn’t enough to get some on Wall Street off the sidelines.
Earnings for the quarter came in at $1.22 per share, adjusted, which is above the consensus estimate of 81 cents from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue also came in above expectations at $1.12 billion compared with the $1.1 billion anticipated by analysts.
Tuesday marked the last day of February. Despite a solid start to the year, the major indexes are due to suffer their second negative month in three.
The Dow was down 4% for the month and is down year to date. The S&P 500 has lost 2.5%, and NASDAQ has handed over 1% in February.
Those losses came after a strong start to the year for stocks; the S&P 500 rallied more than 6% in January.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hesitated, raising yields back to Monday’s 3.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.19 to $76.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $9.80 to $1,834.70 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
