Equity markets in Canada’s largest centre touched over three-month lows on Tuesday led by declines in materials companies amid the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade dispute and uncertainty over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index came off its lows of the morning, but remained negative 26.24 points to move toward noon hour ET Tuesday at 16,030.85
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.08 cents to 76.06 cents.
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal.
Influential decliners on the materials index, which was pressured by a slide in metal prices, were Barrick Gold, down 11 cents to $12.72, and First Quantum Minerals, off 38 cents, or 2.6%, to $14.16.
Among energy concerns, Suncor Energy slouched 31 cents to $50.39, while Canadian Natural Resources lost 70 cents, or 1.6%, to $41.97, and Imperial Oil fell 26 cents to $38.40, biggest lags on the energy group.
Hudson's Bay Co and Signa Holding will merge Germany's Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt to form Europe's third biggest department store chain as they battle online rivals. Shares of Hudson's Bay, which bought Kaufhof in 2015, climbed 96 cents, or 8.9%, to $11.74.
Northland Power, which rose 97 cents, or 4.4%, to $22.94, was another significant gainer Tuesday morning, after BMO upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "market perform".
BRP Inc fell $6.61, or 9.3%, the most on the TSX, to $64.50, after launching a secondary offering. The second biggest decliner was First Majestic Silver, down 22 cents, or 3.1%, to $6.80.
On the economic beat, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the trend in housing starts was 214,598 units in August 2018, compared to 219,656 units in July 2018
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 2.75 points to 715.99
Seven of the 12 subgroups were negative midday, as gold surrendered 1.5%, materials shed 0.9%, and energy slid 0.5%.
The five gainers were co-led north by real-estate and industrials, each up 0.4%, while information technology gained 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as a rebound in tech shares offset lingering concerns over trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 68.95 points to 25,926.02, as Apple outperformed. The Dow also got a boost from Nike shares.
Nike shares rose 1.1% after analysts at Canaccord Genuity upgraded them to buy from neutral. The analysts also said Nike's ad featuring former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was a "stroke of genius."
The S&P 500 gained 5.31 points to 2,882.44, as tech shares climbed.
The NASDAQ strengthened 20.43 points to 7,944.59, as shares of some of the largest tech companies rose.
Netflix and Amazon both rose 1.3%. Apple also gained 1.4% after analysts at UBS raised their price target to $250 from $215, citing the potential growth of the company's services business.
Still, tech remains down more than 2% in September as social media companies like Facebook and Twitter face potentially increasing regulatory pressures.
Tesla's stock dropped 3.3% after a Nomura analyst called the stock "no longer investable."
Trade worries coupled with tech's recent decline have overshadowed strong economic data. The National Federation of Independent Business reported that small business optimism jumped to a record high last month, boosted by lower taxes and looser regulations.
Boeing recovered 0.8%, and Caterpillar shares gained 0.3%, paring losses. Both are considered bellwethers for global trade.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, raising yields to 2.97% from Monday’s 2.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.29 to $68.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dumped $2.50 to $1,197.30
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