Equities in Canada’s largest centre fell on Tuesday as weakness in health-care concerns and a dip in gold prices dragged the indexes lower.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index retreated 32.69 points to close Tuesday at 15,180.76
The Canadian dollar spiked 0.66 cents at 78.08 cents U.S.
Health-care stocks weighed most heavily, as Aurora Cannabis faltered $1.02, or 11.4%, to $8.04, while Canopy Growth shrank $4.26, or 13.3%, to $27.75.
Gold stocks also took some knocks, as Barrick Gold backed off 34 cents, or 2.1%, to $15.99, while Kinross Gold faded six cents, or 1.2%, to $5.07.
In the consumer staples sector, Saputo shied away $1.58, or 3.9%, to $39.37, while Loblaw peeled back 16 cents to $64.30.
In contrast, energy stocks boomed, with Cenovus Energy rocketing 50 cents, or 4.6%, to $11.31, while Canadian Natural Resources gained $1.64, or 4.1%, to $41.25.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Magna International got lift of $2.14, or 3.1%, to $72.12, while Canadian Tire added $1.10 to $167.58.
One of the largest percentage gainers on the TSX was Interfor, which rose $1.10, or 4.9%, to $23.68. Elsewhere in industrials, Bombardier took on a penny to $3.67.
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ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange drooped 14.33 points, or 1.8%, to 769.30
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups remained negative on the day, with health-care plummeting 4.8%, gold off 2.4%, and consumer staples slumping 1%.
The three gainers were energy, better by 2%, consumer discretionaries, up 0.7%, and industrials, eking up 0.2%.
Real-estate stocks were unchanged by the closing bell.
ON WALLSTREET
Shares on indices south of the border rose on Tuesday as technology shares cut sharp losses from the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered from Monday’s debacle of a session, and then some, flying 389.17 points, or 1.7%, to 24,033.36, with Nike as the best-performing stock in the index.
The S&P 500 improved 32.57 points, or 1.3%, to 2,614.45, with tech rising 1% and energy leading.
The NASDAQ Composite index moved higher 71.16 points, or 1%, to 6,941.28
Netflix shares rose 1.2% while Amazon gained 1.5% in volatile trading, while Facebook advanced 0.5%.
The major averages briefly hit session lows as tech stocks hit their lows of the day. Amazon traded lower momentarily after President Donald Trump bashed the company again on Twitter.
But Amazon surged to session highs late in the session after Bloomberg reported that the White House had no plans to take action against the company. The major averages also hit their highs of the day after the news.
The moves Tuesday come after Wall Street tumbled on the first trading day of April and the second quarter. On Monday, the Dow sank more than 450 points, with the 30-stock index hitting a new low for the year. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed in correction territory amid the possibility of a trade war, and fears surrounding the tech industry.
Tech has been the best-performing sector in the S&P 500 sector over the past 12 months, rising 23% through Monday's close. But the sector has been under pressure recently because of growing concerns the space could be hit with regulation.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell back, raising yields to 2.78% from Monday’s 2.74%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 52 cents a barrel to $63.53 U.S.
Gold prices lost $10.90 to $1,336 U.S. an ounce.
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