Equities in Toronto fell on Tuesday as banking, energy and mining stocks weighed, while Shaw Communications jumped after announcing deals to sell its data centre business and buy wireless airwaves.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plunged 63.79 points to greet noon at 15,320.01
The Canadian dollar climbed 0.55 cents to 75.62 cents U.S.
Shaw was the most influential gainer on the index, up 2.5% to $29.26 after the news.
Sears Canada, meanwhile, sank 30% to 80 cents after the retailer flagged doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern and said it was exploring strategic options, including a sale of the company.
The index's financial and natural resource sectors weighed, as oil prices slipped after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries reported an increase in its production for May.
The financials group slipped, with alternative lender Home Capital Group Inc down 7.5% to $11.25, while the materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost ground also.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd fell 4% to $11.44, as copper prices eased from a near two-month high.
Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins says interest rate cuts instituted in 2015 have largely done their job as the Canadian economy gathers momentum. Wilkins is the second top official in as many days to set the stage for eventual rate hikes.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 0.28 points to 785.52
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower heading into lunch hour, with gold tailing off 0.9%, and telecoms and health-care each sliding 0.8%.
The lone holdout was in consumer discretionary stocks, gaining 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks south of the border traded higher on Tuesday as large-cap technology stocks tried to come back from their biggest two-day decline since December
The Dow Jones Industrials climbed 78.06 points at 21,313.73, to hit a record high, with Goldman Sachs the most gains. Apple also contributed gains to the 30-stock index.
The S&P 500 added 7.48 points to 2,436.87, with information technology climbing 0.8% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ gained 37.03 points to 6,212.50, shares of Apple, Google-Parent Alphabet and Tesla, pushing the index higher.
In economic news, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index came in unchanged at 104.5 for May.
Meanwhile, U.S. producer prices remained unchanged last month as energy costs recorded their biggest decline in more than a year, suggesting inflation pressures were easing after rising at the start of the year.
Investors also kept an eye on the Federal Reserve as the central bank kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday.
Investors largely expect the central bank to raise interest rates by a quarter point. Market expectations for a June rate hike were 99.6%.
Investors will also look for clues about how the U.S. central bank plans to unwind its massive $4.5-trillion balance sheet.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were lower, lifting yields to 2.22% from Monday’s 2.21%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 28 cents to $46.36 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dropped $3.90 at $1,265.00 U.S. an ounce.
