Equities in Toronto took body blows Tuesday, as resource and tech stocks teamed up to dampen investor enthusiasm.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index tumbled 145.97 points to end Tuesday at 16,377.50
The Canadian dollar was up 0.06 cents to 75.91 cents U.S. Tuesday.
Tech stocks took the biggest shellacking, as Shopify took it on the chin $38.93, or 9.5%, to $371.77, Photon Control got bruised seven cents, or 6%, to $1.10
Materials fell, as MAG Silver tottered 94 cents, or 6.1%, to $14.37, while Canfor tumbled 21 cents, or 2%, to $10.56.
Golds took a hit, as IAMGOLD lost 14 cents, or 3.1%, to $4.39, while Osisko Gold Royalties sank 77 cents, or 5.1%, to $14.30.
On the economic ledger, Statistics Canada said wholesale trade increased 1.7% to $65.3 billion in April, the fifth consecutive monthly increase.
The agency adds higher sales were recorded in five of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 86% of total wholesale sales in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 11.24 points, or 1.9%, at 577.88
All 12 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, as information technology dumped 3.5%, materials moved lower 1.2%, and gold lost 1.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday, led lower by sharp declines in tech, after comments from top Federal Reserve officials cooled investor optimism around a potential rate cut next month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 174.48 points to 26,553.06, notching its biggest one-day loss since May 31.
The S&P 500 sank 27.97 points, or 1%, to 2,917.38
The NASDAQ Composite fell 120.98 points, or 1.5%, to 7,884.72
The S&P 500 tech sector dropped 1.8% as Microsoft shares lost more than 3%. Microsoft dropped after an analyst at Jefferies raised worries over the company’s cloud service, Azure, and its success relative to rival Amazon Web Services. Adobe, Autodesk and Lam Research also closed down at least 3%.
In corporate news, AbbVie agreed to buy Botox-maker Allergan for $63 billion in cash and stock. The announcement sent Allergan soaring 25.4%. AbbVie shares slid 16.3%.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 121.5, hitting its lowest level since September 2017. Economists expected the index to slip to 131.1. The Conference Board pointed to escalating trade tensions as the culprit for the loss of confidence.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is assessing whether current economic uncertainties call for lower rates. Powell noted the Fed will take a "wait-and-see" approach given how rapid recent economic changes have been.
The central bank also believes U.S. inflation will return to 2%, albeit at a slower pace than expected, Powell added. He also said the Fed remains independent of "short-term political interests."
Market expectations for a July rate cut are at 100%, since last week’s Fed meeting.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.99% from Monday’s 2.02%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices handed back eight cents to $57.82 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $8.40 to $1,426.60 U.S. an ounce.
