Canada's main stock index fell to a five-month low on Tuesday, pressured by a drop in financial and materials stocks as a selloff in global markets weighed on investor sentiment, while domestic data showed a wider-than-expected trade deficit.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index came off its lows of the morning, but remained in the red 84.58 points, to greet noon at 15,250.23
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 79.76 cents U.S.
The biggest riser was cannabis company Canopy Growth , which gained 10.6% and the biggest negative influence was Element Fleet Management, a provider of services and financing for commercial vehicle fleets, which fell 29% after issuing a profit warning on Monday.
In the financial sector, Toronto Dominion Bank fell by 0.9 percent and Royal Bank of Canada was down 0.8 percent.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada that our merchandise trade deficit with the world totaled $3.2 billion in December, widening from a $2.7-billion deficit in November. Imports rose 1.5% and exports were up 0.6%.
Western University’s Purchasing Managers’ Index was also released Tuesday, and the seasonally-adjusted index fell to 55.2 in January from 60.4 in December, and 57.2 in January 2017. A reading above 50 indicates an increase in the pace of activity.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 8.46 points, or 1.1%, to move into noon hour at 811.69
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday, with utilities settling 1.2%, while gold and information technology skidded 1.1% each.
The two gainers were health-care, up 4.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
After two huge selloffs in a row, U.S. stocks are all over the map on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial came off its morning highs, but were still in the green 84.01 points to 24,429.76
The S&P 500 held onto gains of 0.64 points to 2,649.58, with utilities as the worst-performing sector.
The NASDAQ gained 25.03 points to 6,992.55, as shares of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet were prominently featured.
On Monday, the Dow dropped 1,175.21 points, having briefly declined more than 1,500 points during the session. Other major indexes closed sharply lower. The selloff kicked into action on Friday, after the latest non-farm payrolls report saw interest rates in the U.S. jump.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note faded, upping yields to 2.76% from Monday’s 2.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 26 cents a barrel to $63.89 U.S.
Gold prices erased $4.60 to $1,331.90 U.S. an ounce.
