Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, for the first time in seven sessions, amid global growth concerns.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index subsided 70.84 points to end Tuesday at 16,336.45
The Canadian dollar let go of 0.06 cents at 75.05 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks endured the bumpiest ride, as Aurora Cannabis shed 30 cents, or 2.5%, to $11.69, while Canopy Growth Corp. lost $1.21, or 2.1%, to $55.69.
Energy stocks also paled, as Suncor Energy dipped 57 cents, or 1.3%, to $44.20, while TransCanada Corp. faded 38 cents to $61.26.
In the financial sector, Royal Bank dropped 31 cents to $103.13, while Scotiabank slouched 18 cents to $71.06.
Tech stocks did what they could to lift markets, as Shopify climbed $4.92, or 1.9%, to $271.34.
Among gold concerns, Barrick took on 29 cents, or 1.6%, to $18.27, while Kinross Gold gained four cents to $4.77.
In the consumer staples field, Maple Leaf Foods gained 31 cents, or 1%, to $30.82, while Metro acquired six cents to $50.59.
The International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecasts for 2019 and warned growth could slow further due to trade tensions and a potentially disorderly British exit from the European Union.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slouched 3.7 points to 628.59
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups finished lower on the day, as health-care dived 1.2%, energy slid 0.8%, and financials were off 0.6%
The three gainers were information technology and gold, each up 0.5%, while consumer staples peeked up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a second straight day Tuesday as investors awaited the start of corporate earnings season later this week.
The 30-stock index plummeted 217.96 points to close the day at 26,123.06, as Boeing stock came under pressure again on concerns about 737 Max jet production delays.
The S&P 500 flopped 17.57 points at 2,878.20, led by losses in industrials, energy and financial companies.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 44.81 points to 7,909.28, as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet all declined.
The Dow and S&P 500 both posted their worst session since March 22, while the NASDAQ notched its largest drop since March 27.
Wall Street expectations for this earnings season imply a significant reduction to corporate profit growth in comparison to recent quarters.
Investors anticipate first-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth to slip 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. If that forecast proves accurate, it would be the first profit contraction for the S&P 500 since the second quarter of 2016. S&P 500 revenues are expected to grow just under 5%.
Bank of America, which will also report earnings next week, said Tuesday that it's raising its minimum wage for its employees to $20 an hour. The minimum wage at the company will be raised to $17 effective May 1 and will increase in increments over the next two years.
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley all fell at least 0.5% on Tuesday.
American aircraft giant Boeing dropped 1.5% Tuesday as investor angst over its decision on Friday to cut production of its 737 Max jets kept pressure on the stock. Regulators and stakeholders alike are scrutinizing the company in light of two recent fatal 737 Max crashes.
Wall Street short seller Carson Block believes the crashes show that the company is more concerned with short-term profits than anything else.
The prolonged grounding of the 737 Max planes forced American Airlines on Tuesday to lower its revenues guidance for the first fiscal quarter. The airline cut its total expected revenue per seat mile, a key industry measure of performance, to a range of flat to 1%, down from a prior estimate of flat to 2%.
Though American Airlines stock fell 1.6% Tuesday, selling in major industrials names wasn't confined to the aerospace industry.
Shares of Caterpillar fell 2.4% while Deere dropped 3.7%.
Disney shares rose 1.6% Tuesday after brokerage Cowen upgraded the Dow component and told clients that its film pipeline should boost profits over the next few years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.5% from Monday’s 2.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 29 cents to $64.11 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained six dollars to $1,307.90 U.S. an ounce.
