Stocks in Toronto fell just short of breakeven by Tuesday’s close, as weakness in resource stocks weighed down any progress made by health-care and industrial issues.
The TSX was in minus territory 13.66 points to close Tuesday at 18,705.56.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.28 cents at 79.14 cents U.S.
Canadian health officials said they would stop offering AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to people aged under 55 and require a new analysis of the shot's benefits and risks based on age and gender.
Elsewhere in health-care, however, Aphria gained 79 cents, or 3.7%, to $22.16, while Trillium Pharmaceuticals added 35 cents, or 2.7%, to $13.12.
Industrials also proved strong Tuesday, with Ballard Power Systems jumping $2.09, or 7.8%, to $28.88, while NFI picker up 92 cents, or 3.5%, to $27.56.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Magna International got a lift of $3.63, or 3.4%, to $112.09, while Linamar hiked $2.06, or 2.8%, to $74.80.
Among gold plays, B2Gold docked 39 cents, or 6.8%, to $5.31, while Kirkland Lake Gold docked $2.26, or 5.3%, to $40.27.
In the materials sector, Osisko Mining deleted 15 cents, or 5.1%, to $2.79, while Silvercrest Metals let go of 40 cents, or 4.8%, to $9.48.
In communications, Rogers shed 80 cents, or 1.3%, to $59.57, while Quebecor dipped 41 cents, or 1.2%, to $34.64.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Exchange Income Corp, which jumped $1.71, or 4.3%, to $41.09, and pot producer Aphria, which rose 15 cents to $21.52.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that the total number of payroll employees in January was 1.2 million (or 7%) lower than in February 2020.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sank 6.76 points to 929.07.
In all, seven of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground on the day, with health-care haler by 2%, while industrials and consumer discretionaries were peppier by 0.8% each.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, down 3.4%, materials, ailing 2%, and communications, sliding 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as major technology shares came under pressure again after the 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest level since January 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 104.41 points to 33,066.96. Monday, the index reached a new all-time high. Apple and Microsoft were among the biggest losers in the 30-stock Dow, falling more than 1% each.
The S&P 500 subtracted 12.54 points, to 3,958.55, led by losses in consumer staples and technology.
The NASDAQ Composite backpedaled 14.25 points to 13,045.39.
Classic reopening plays rallied after the data release. American Airlines jumped more than 5%, while United Airlines popped more than 3%. Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line both climbed at least 3%.
The market experienced heightened volatility this week amid the continued fallout after a hedge fund was forced to liquidate its position in several media stocks.
ViacomCBS and Discovery both rebounded after registering heavy losses last week prompted by Archegos Capital Management selling large blocks of stocks late last week. Discovery jumped more than 5%, while ViacomCBS rose 3.6%.
Wells Fargo advanced more than 2% after the bank said it didn’t experience losses related to closing out its exposure to Archegos.
Other bank stocks also staged a comeback. Goldman Sachs climbed 1.9%. JPMorgan and Bank of America also rose more than 1% each.
Credit Suisse and Nomura posted heavy losses this week after warning of “significant” hits to first-quarter results following the hedge fund’s selling.
Despite the recent volatility, the Dow is up 6.9% and S&P 500 is firmly higher for the month, gaining 3.9%.
Investors digested a reading on consumer confidence that far exceeded expectations. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index surged in March to 109.7, its highest reading in a year. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the index to rise to 96.8 from 90.4 in February.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys regained ground, lowering yields to Monday’s 1.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost their grip on $1.10 to $60.46 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slouched $31.40 to $1,683.20.
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