Equities in Canada’s largest market fell hard on Tuesday, ending a 12-day rally, with energy shares leading losses on the back of lower oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index docked 120.4 points to close Tuesday at 15,233.76. Even so, the index is still up on the year by more than 900 points.
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.3 cents to 74.9 cents U.S.
Energy stocks were particularly hard-hit, as Suncor lost $1.17, or 2.7%, to $42.11, while Canadian Natural Resources lost $1.96, or 5.4%, to $34.52
Among industrials, Canadian National Railways settled $$3.90, or 3.5%, to $107.90, while Bombardier doffed three cents, or 1.4%, to $2.06.
Tech firms were also roughed up, as Shopify fell $1.69 to $208.50, while BlackBerry got bruised 31 cents, or 3%, to $10.15.
Gold provided one of the few bright spots, as Kinross Gold picked up 13 cents, or 3.2%, to $4.19, while Agnico Eagle Mines improved 45 cents to $52.52.
Among communications, Rogers climbed 35 cents to $72.91, while Shaw Communications eked up two cents to $26.70.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said wholesale trade fell 1.0% in November to $63.0 billion, more than offsetting the 0.7% increase in October.
The agency went on to say sales were down in five of seven sub-sectors, representing about 82% of total wholesale sales.
Also in November, manufacturing sales fell 1.4% to $57.3 billion, the second consecutive monthly decrease. StatsCan said the decline in November mainly reflected lower sales of petroleum and coal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 4.97 points to 593.11
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, with energy tumbling 3.2%, while industrials fell back 1.2%, and information technology failing 0.6%.
The three gainers proved to be gold, ahead 1.2%, while utilities and communications each took on 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday, the first trading day of the week, as weak data out of China and lower global growth estimates from the International Monetary Fund renewed fears of the global economy slowing down.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average stumbled 301.87 points, or 1.2%, to 24,404.48, led by losses in Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar.
The S&P 500 reversed 37.81 points, or 1.4%, to 2,632.90, as the communications services and industrials sectors lagged.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 136.87 points, or 1.9%, to 7,020.36
The major indexes also closed lower for the first time in five sessions. U.S. markets were closed on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Arconic fell about 16% after announcing it would abandon the pursuit of a company sale.
Shares of eBay jumped 6.1% after hedge fund Elliott Management revealed a $1.4-billion stake in the company. Elliott also sent extensive recommendations to the company’s management team.
Stocks came into Tuesday’s session riding a four-week winning streak, their longest since August, as investors have largely shrugged off fears of a slowdown in earnings growth as well as an ongoing U.S. government shutdown. The S&P 500 is also up more than 10% since Dec. 24.
The IMF, meanwhile, said Monday the global economic expansion is losing momentum. This led the institution to trim its 2019 growth forecast to 3.5% from 3.7%. The Fund also cut its 2020 growth outlook to 3.6% from 3.7%.
The major indexes fell to their lows of the day after the National Association of Realtors said U.S. existing housing sales fell to their lowest level in three years.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, reducing yields to 2.75% from Friday’s 2.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.03 to $52.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices forged ahead $1.60 to $1,284.20 U.S. an ounce.
