Equities in Canada’s largest centre moved sharply lower by the end of Tuesday’s session, as losses in tech and health-care shares overwhelmed gains among telecoms.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 82.38 points by the closing bell Tuesday to 15,216.18
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.2 cents at 77.6 cents U.S.
Tech stocks suffered the biggest blows, as BlackBerry doffed 84 cents, or 5%, to $16.00, while Constellation Software lost $22.89, or 2.6%, to $873.27.
Health-care stocks took some bruising, as Aphria lost 41 cents, or 3.2%, to $12.54, while Crescita Therapeutics lost a penny, or 2%, to 48 cents.
Gold stocks lost some of their luster, as Chesapeake Gold subsided 39 cents, or 13.6%, to $2.48, and Eldorado Gold faded three cents, or 2.7%, to $1.07.
Telecoms provided one of the few bright spots, as Rogers Communications gained 27 cents to $56.62, while TELUS Corp. added 21 cents to $44.52.
Utilities also moved in the positive range, as Fortis Inc. took on 13 cents to $43.13, while Hydro One grabbed a penny to $21.06.
The United States and many of its allies, including Canada, are expelling more than 100 Russian diplomats in retaliation to a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they blame on Moscow.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 13.71 points, or 1.7%, to 802.83
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative to end the session, with information technology crashing 2.9%, health-care ailing 2.6%, and gold down 1.4%.
The two gainers were telecoms, up 0.6%, and utilities, ahead 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday, erasing earlier gains, as a decline in the broader tech sector brought the major averages down.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged earthward 344.89 points, or 1.4%, to 23,857.71, and re-entered correction territory, with Microsoft as the worst-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 fell 45.73 points, or 1.7%, to 2,612.62, with tech sliding 3.5%.
The NASDAQ composite Index was pummeled 211.74 points, or 2.9%, to 7,008.81, as shares of Apple and Amazon declined.
Earlier in the session, the Dow rose 243 points, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ also traded higher.
Facebook shares contributed to tech's losses, as they fell 4.9% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch reduced its price target on the stock for the second time in five days. The cut comes as Facebook's fallout from the data scandal continues.
Last week, reports emerged alleging that Cambridge Analytica, an analytics company, had gathered data from 50 million Facebook profiles without users' permission. While Facebook has since come out to apologize and try to rectify the matter, concerns remain over data use.
CNN reported Tuesday that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify in front of Congress on the Cambridge Analytica leak.
Tech shares were also under pressure after Reuters reported Nvidia is temporarily suspending self-driving tests. The news sent the stock down 7.8%. Tesla shares also fell 8.2% after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board announced it would investigate a fatal crash that took place last week.
Twitter fell 11% after short-seller Andrew Left said he is betting against the stock.
Netflix declined more than 6.1%. Stocks traded higher earlier in the session, extending sharp gains seen in the previous session as concerns over a trade war faded.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained sharply, lowering yields to 2.78% from Monday’s 2.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 67 cents a barrel to $64.88 U.S.
Gold prices faded $11.20 to $1,343.80 U.S. an ounce.
