Stocks finished negative Tuesday, as heavy losses in the health and energy fields more than countered gains in the telecom and discretionary sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index finished 49.56 points lower at Tuesday’s closing bell at 15,372.35
The Canadian dollar cleared breakeven 0.03 cents at 74.26 cents U.S.
In health-care, Emblem Corp. toppled 14 cents, or 6%, to $2.18, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals backed off Monday’s level by 77 cents, or 4.5%, to $16.47.
Energy stocks also took a pounding, as Encana Corp. dropped 74 cents, or 5.2%, to $13.53, while Cenovus Energy faded 40 cents, or 3.1%, to $12.42.
Gold also lost some of its luster, as Kinross Gold slid four cents to $5.69, while Detour Gold moved lower 25 cents, or 1.4%, to $17.37.
Telecoms tried to bring things level, as BCE climbed 11 cents to $60.84, while Rogers Communications tallied 48 cents to $63.15.
In consumer discretionries, BRP Inc. gained $1.01, or 3.2%, to $32.68, while Dollarama tacked on $1.27, or 1%, to $123.33.
In the consumer staples, Restaurant Brands International gained 59 cents to $83.69, while Loblaw Companies took on 40 cents to $76.12.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index rose 0.6% in April, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products. StatsCan also said its raw materials price index hiked 1.6% in April, mainly as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that Canada's current account deficit (on a seasonally adjusted basis) widened by $2.3 billion in the first quarter to $14.1 billion. In the financial account, large foreign investment in Canadian corporate securities led the net inflow of funds into the economy.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 4.78 points to 804.96
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, telecoms and consumer discretionaries each picking up 0.5%, and consumer staples up 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.8%, energy, fading 1.6%, and gold, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mostly lower on Tuesday as investors digested key economic data, but a rise in tech stocks helped cap losses.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 50.95 points to close Tuesday at 21,029.33, with Goldman Sachs leading decliners and Verizon outperforming.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.91 points to 2,412.91, slipped marginally, with energy leading decliners, but the information technology sector rose 0.3%
The NASDAQ stepped back 7.01 points from Friday’s all-time record to end the session at 6,203.19, despite shares of Amazon breaking above $1,000 for the first time.
The tech sector has been a super-strong performer this year, rising around 20%. Nevertheless, the NASDAQ and S&P were on track to snap a seven-day winning streak.
U.S. stock markets were closed Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday.
Economically speaking, personal income south of the border rose 0.4% in April, in line with expectations, and consumer spending increased by 0.4%. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, rose 0.2%.
Meanwhile, U.S. home prices rose 5.8% in March, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.
Other data released Tuesday include consumer confidence reading for May, which came in at 117.9, slightly below a consensus estimate of 119.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told the media on Tuesday he sees U.S. growth to remain near 2% and not the 3% or more forecast by President Donald Trump's administration.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.21% from Friday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 32 cents to $49.48 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices retreated $6.20 at $1,265.20 U.S. an ounce.
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