Equity markets all over North America shared in the bleeding Tuesday, as the suspense over interest rate hikes lingered over the heads and hearts of investors.
The S&P/TSX Composite was hammered 321.08 points, or 1.5%, to $20,609.81
The Canadian dollar stumbled 0.49 cents to 78.03 cents U.S.
Tech stocks took the brunt of it, as HUT 8 Mining shed 40 cents, or 8%, to $4.58, while Softchoice fell $2.11, or 8.7%, to $22.14.
In consumer stocks, Aritzia dropped $2.53, or 5.5%, to $43.47, while shares in Canada Goose faded $1.51, or 5.3%, to $26.90.
Cannabis concerns also took their knocks, as Aurora Cannabis dived 16 cents, or 4.1%, to $3.77, while Canopy Growth, slid 29 cents, or 4.1%, to $6.78.
Energy stocks tried to salvage some dignity for the market, as Nuvista tacked on 76 cents, or 7.4%, to $10.97, while Parex Resources gained 96 cents, or 3.9%, to $25.45.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dumped 12.42 points, or 1.5%, to 812.32.
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, as information technology swooned 3.3%, consumer discretionary shares dropped 3%, and health-care lost 2.8%.
Energy proved the sole gainer, up 1.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday with shares selling off into the close, as investors dumped equities on fears of an economic slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrials crumbled 809.28 points, or 2.4%, to 33,240.18.
The S&P 500 bailed 120.92 points, or 2.8%, to 4,175.20.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 514.11 points, or 4%, to 12,490.74, a fresh 52-week low. The index retreated further into bear market territory, sitting now about 23% off its high.
For April, the S&P 500 is off 7.8%, the NASDAQ is down 12.2% and the Dow is down 4.2%.
Tech stocks led the decline Tuesday as investors did not wait around for Microsoft and Alphabet first-quarter results after the bell Tuesday, fearing more blow-ups like the one seen in Netflix earlier in the earnings season.
Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet both saw shares close down more than 3% ahead of reporting earnings. Facebook parent Meta, Amazon and Apple also finished lower Tuesday, with earnings results slated for later this week.
Netflix shares dropped 5.5% and hit a new multi-year low. Last week, Netflix plunged 35% in a single day after reporting a surprising subscriber loss for the first quarter.
Tesla, which has a factory in Shanghai and counts China as a major market for its electric vehicles, was the biggest laggard on the NASDAQ, closing down 12.2%. The shares also came under pressure as its CEO and founder, Elon Musk, looked to close his proposed deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
Chip stocks were among the top decliners on the NASDAQ. Nvidia lost 5.6% and AMD retreated 6.1%.
Cyclical names tied to economic growth also suffered Tuesday. Dow component 3M fell about 3% despite better-than-expected earnings as the company noted macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges ahead. UPS shares also fell 3.5% despite the shipper’s quarterly earnings and revenue topping expectations.
Other industrial names like General Electric and Boeing were lower Tuesday. GE fell 10.3%, while Boeing eased 5%. GE warned that its 2022 outlook was “trending toward the low end of the range.”
Bank stocks also struggled as interest rates fell. Wells Fargo dipped 2.7% and Bank of America lost 2.3%
Treasury prices picked up new ground, lowering yields up to 2.74% from Monday’s 2.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices prospered $3.62 at $102.16 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $5.50 to $1,901.50 U.S. an ounce.
