Canada's main stock index fell sharply on Tuesday, led by declines in the materials sector, after hotter-than-expected inflation figures prompted investors to scale back bets for an imminent interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada.
The TSX cratered 527.62 points, or 1.7%, to conclude Tuesday trading at 29,888.82.
The Canadian dollar nicked ahead eight cents to 71.37 cents U.S.
Gold stocks were responsible for the market meltdown, as Aya Gold & Silver sank $2.71, or 15.2%, to $15.15, while shares in Lundin Gold dropped $17.03, or 14.8%, to $98.15.
Among materials, Endeavour Silver docked $1.70, or 13%, to $11.38, while Discovery Silver dwindled 80 cents, or 14%, to $4.90.
In tech stocks, Bitfarms blundered 67 cents, or 9.5%, to $6.35, while Dye & Durham fell 28 cents, or 5.1%, to $5.22.
Balancing things out somewhat, Choice Properties REIT units steered real estate higher by 20 cents, or 1.4%, to $15.03, while Colliers International rose $2.48, or 1.1%, to $225.61.
In consumer stocks, Magna International moved up $2.03, or `3.2%, to $64.93, while Linamar grabbed 71 cents, or 1%, to $73.80.
In telecoms, Rogers took on 48 cents to $51.87, while Cogeco tacked on 32 cents to $66.23.
Despite recent market volatility, the Canadian benchmark remains near all-time highs, supported by rising gold prices and optimism about artificial intelligence from Wall Street.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada said its consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.4% year over year in September, up from a 1.9% increase in August.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.4% in September. The inflation reading could prove decisive for the BoC's upcoming monetary policy decision, with traders currently pricing in about 90% chance of a 25-basis-point cut.
On the trade front, The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday that a U.S.-Canada trade deal covering steel, aluminum and energy could be ready for Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump to sign at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 32.31 points, or 3.3%, to 951.05.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower on the day, as gold weakened 9.5%, materials sank 8%, and information technology was down 1.5%.
The three gainers were real-estate, up 0.4%, consumer discretionary stocks, better by 0.2%, and telecoms, clearing breakeven but 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a record-setting session on Tuesday, boosted by strong earnings reports from companies such as Coca-Cola and 3M, while the S&P 500 was relatively unchanged.
The 30-stock index gained 218.16 points to conclude Tuesday’s session at 46,924.74.
The S&P 500 eked ahead 0.22 points to 6,735.35.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ settled 36.88 points to 22,953.67.
Coca-Cola and 3M supported the Dow’s move after their latest releases surpassed Wall Street’s estimates, Coke jumping 4% and 3M up 7%.
Fellow old economy stock General Motors soared 14.9% after it hiked its guidance for the full year and topped estimates. The Detroit automaker also lowered its estimated impact from President Donald Trump’s tariffs for the year, saying that it expects to offset about 35% of that hit.
Meanwhile, other names like Zions Bancorp gained more than 1% after the regional bank reported third-quarter profits that rose from a year ago, despite the disclosure of some bad loans late last week that sparked a broader market rout.
Tech stocks took a bit of a hit during Tuesday’s session, however, after Trump sparked some uncertainty about his expected meeting next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Maybe it won’t happen,” the president said. Alphabet and Broadcom were each down around 2%. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia pulled back nearly 1%.
A strong start to the earnings season appears to be supporting the broader market rally, particularly amid an economic data blackout due to the government shutdown.
More than three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies that have posted results so far have beaten expectations, according to FactSet.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury nicked up, lowering yields to 3.96% from Monday’s 3.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices poked ahead 34 cents to $57.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices skidded $231.30 to $4,129.30 U.S. an ounce.
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