The Toronto stock market was in the red Tuesday amid a number of concerns about what central banks can do to stimulate a lacklustre global economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 62.73 points to ease into noon ET at 12,319.97, off its lows of the morning.
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.04 cents to 98.14 cents U.S.
On the corporate front, Lululemon Athletica Inc. plunged 17.3% to $69.50 on the TSX after CEO Christine Day said after the close Monday she was stepping down. She will remain in the job until a successor is named. The yoga wear retailer also handed in earnings of 32 cents a share, beating expectations of 29 cents, and announced plans to delist from the TSX.
Commodity prices backed off sharply Tuesday morning and the base metals component was 2.2% lower while July copper retreated for a fourth day, down six cents to $3.18 U.S. a pound. First Quantum Minerals fell 40 cents to $17.62 while Turquoise Hill Resources dropped 33 cents to $6.27.
Rail stocks fell alongside miners as Canadian Pacific Railway gave back 60 cents to $126.66.
The gold sector fell as Barrick Gold faded 55 cents to $20.26.
Shares of Kinross Gold Corp. fell 35 cents to $6.09 after the company announced it’s halting development of its Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador.
The gold miner said after the close of markets Monday it would stop work on the project after it was unable to reach an agreement with the government of Ecuador on “key economic and legal terms.”
The energy sector fell as Cenovus Energy shed 44 cents to $30.07 and Suncor Energy was 46 cents lower to $31.34.
Outside of the resource sector, financials also weighed on the TSX as TD Bank was 64 cents lower to $81.82.
Tech stocks were also negative as Constellation Software dropped $4.50 to $144.50.
In other corporate developments, Telus Corp. shares fell 41 cents to $34.30 as the telecom called off its plan to buy small wireless provider Mobilicity after Ottawa signaled last week that it would not allow the deal.
Mobilicity, which has about 250,000 customers, said Monday that it will instead go ahead with a recapitalization plan. The deal had required the federal government to allow the larger company to transfer ownership of wireless spectrum owned by Mobilicity.
Encana Corp. has picked its new chief executive from outside the company. Canada’s largest natural gas producer has appointed Doug Suttles, a 30-year veteran of the industry who most recently was chief operating officer at BP Exploration & Production. EnCana gained four cents to $18.95.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 9.93 points to 936.79
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed by gold, down 2.7%, while materials slid 2%, and metals and mining sagged 1.8%.
The two stalwarts were in health-care, up 1.9%, and financials, up only 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply Tuesday, but some say a breather may actually be healthy.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved downward 15.74 points to pause for lunch at 15,222.80
The S&P 500 index slid 4.35 points to 1,638.46. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite dropped 12 to 3,461.77
All three indices are still up between 14% and 15% this year.
After climbing steadily for the first part of the year, U.S. stocks have been choppy in recent weeks as investors try to gauge when the Federal Reserve will begin to slow the pace of its bond buying.
On the corporate front, Lululemon shares tanked after the yogawear maker announced that CEO Christine Day is stepping down.
Shares of Sprint Nextel rose after SoftBank, Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, increased its takeover offer.
Shares of Dole Foods surged after the company said its chairman and CEO, David Murdock, made a cash offer to buy the 60.5% of the company he doesn't already own. Murdock offered to pay a 17.6% premium to Monday's close.
Shares of aircraft maker Boeing slipped after the company trimmed its 20-year forecast for widebody jet demand, even as it raised its forecast for single-aisle jets.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury jumped, lowering yields to 2.21% from Monday’s 2.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down 82 cents to $94.95 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices off $9.30 to $1,376.70 U.S. an ounce
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