Tuesday saw a continuation of the losing streak for Canada’s main stock index, as health-care weighed most heavily on the indexes.
The S&P/TSX Composite plunged 64.27 points to close Tuesday at 15,399.24. Even so, the index eked out a gain of 0.1% for the month of February.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.34 cents at 75.49 cents U.S.
Gold miners featured prominently among the most influential gainers, as Goldcorp rose 20 cents, or 1%, to $21.17, and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd advanced 52 cents to $55.85.
In the materials sector, Teck Resources surged 29 cents, or 1.1%, to $26.55, while Fortuna Silver Mines prospered 39 cents, or 5.5%, to $7.53.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc fell $2.97, or 13.5%, to $18.97 after saying that 2017 would be another year of transition with revenue falling as much as 8% amid drug price pressure and fewer prescriptions.
Elsewhere among health-care concerns, Canopy Growth Corporation plunged 52 cents, or 4.2%, to $11.87.
In consumer staples, Maple Leaf Foods shed 10 cents to $30.89, while Loblaw dipped 42 cents to $69.26.
Telecoms were also negative today, as BCE Inc. lost 18 cents to $57.94, while TELUS Corp. fell 18 cents to $57.94.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index rose 0.4% in January, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
The Raw Materials Price Index increased 1.7%, led by higher prices for animals and animal products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plummeted 9.99 points, or 1.2%., to 817.22
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups finished in the red Tuesday, with health-care being the worst off, down 2.7%, consumer staples, off 0.8%, and telecoms down 0.6%.
The five gainers were led by gold, gleaming 1.5%, real-estate, stronger by 0.7%, and materials 0.6% to the good.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors eagerly awaited a speech from President Donald Trump while parsing through key economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials subtracted 24.99 points to 20,812.45, with Wal-Mart leading decliners and Coca-Cola outperforming. The index also snapped a 12-day winning streak. Still, the Dow ended the month 4.8% higher than it began.
The S&P 500 also faded, 6.1 points, to 2,363.65, with consumer discretionary lagging. Shares of Target dragged discretionaries lower, falling more than 10% on the back of weaker-than-expected quarterly results and light guidance. The S&P gained 3.7% during February.
The NASDAQ slumped 36.46 points to 5,825.44 Tuesday, but still improved 3.8% on the year’s shortest month.
In economic news, the second read on fourth-quarter U.S. GDP remained unchanged, but consumer spending was revised sharply higher to a 3% rate from 2.5%
Meanwhile, low inventory and mortgage rates pushed home prices 5.8% higher in December, up from November's 5.6% annual gain, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.
Other data released Tuesday included consumer confidence for February, which hit its highest level since July 2001. Some Federal Reserve officials are also set to speak throughout the day.
Trump is scheduled to speak at a joint Congress session Tuesday night. Wall Street will be listening closely for any clues or details regarding the administration's plans on tax reform and deregulation.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost ground, raising yields to back to Monday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped six cents to $53.99 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices fell $7.60 to $1,251.20 U.S. an ounce.
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