Markets in Canada’s largest centre lost ground on Tuesday in a broad retreat led by financial stocks as bond yields fell, while gold miners gained and energy stocks perked up with a surge in oil prices and news of a deal in Alberta’s oil patch.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 122.9 points to greet noon at 15,068.70
The Canadian dollar added 0.41 cents to 80.98 cents U.S.
Financials tanked, following U.S. banks lower as investors flocked into low-risk government debt after markets opened for the first time since North Korea’s biggest nuclear missile test yet.
The most influential movers on the Canadian index included Royal Bank of Canada, which fell 1.1% to $91.10, and insurer Manulife Financial, down 1.5% to $24.27.
Cenovus Energy jumped 4.1% to $10.36 after the oil company said it would sell its Pelican Lake operations in Alberta for $975 million. The buyer, Canadian Natural Resources, added 0.7% to $39.02.
Hudson’s Bay Co fell 1.2% to $11.95. The CEO of the company, due to report earnings after the bell, told the media its commitment to Europe is "rock solid" as it opened the first of 10 department stores in the Netherlands in the face of pressure from activist investor Jonathan Litt.
Teck Resources declined 6.1% to $29.64. The diversified miner has risen steadily from a trough below $20.00 in mid-June as copper prices have lifted off.
Other base metal miners also pulled back, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd down 3.2% to $14.75 and Lundin Mining off 2.4% at $9.49.
Kinross Gold added 2.6% to $5.70 and New Gold jumped 4.5% to $4.82.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.54 points to 780.99
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were at noon Tuesday, with consumer discretionary, health-care and industrial stocks each off 1.2%.
The two gainers were gold, up 0.9%, and energy, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities fell on Tuesday, the first trading day of the week, as tension between North Korea and the West sent jitters down Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 163.31 points to 21,824.25, with United Technologies and Goldman Sachs contributing the most to the losses. United Technologies' stock dropped after announcing a $30 billion mega-deal to buy Rockwell Collins.
The S&P 500 slumped 16.65 points to 2,459.90, with financials leading 10 sectors lower. Insurers XL Group and Everest Re Group were among the biggest decliners in the index as the threat of Hurricane Irma hitting Florida increased.
The NASDAQ lost 56.62 points to 6,378.71, as shares of Amazon and Alphabet both dropped.
North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted onto an intercontinental ballistic missile. This was North Korea's sixth nuclear test since 2006 and its most powerful to date.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained sharply, lowering yields to 2.09% from Friday’s 2.16%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices marched ahead $1.55 to $48.84.
Gold prices jumped $10.00 to $1,340.40 U.S. an ounce.
