Equities in Canada’s largest centre concluded a seesaw kind of day on the down side, as investors displayed their nerves over a minority government being elected last night, led by incumbent Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The TSX Composite Index moved into the red 26.93 points to end Tuesday at 16,391.52
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.06 cents at 76.34 cents U.S.
Trudeau hung onto power after an election on Monday that saw his government reduced to a minority, but aides predicted he would be able to govern for two years without many problems.
Energy stocks led gainers, as Imperial Oil gained 20 cents to $33.21, while Suncor picked up 14 cents to $40.21.
Industrials were also in the green, as Canadian National Railway tallied $1.45, or 1.3%, to $117.53, while rival Canadian Pacific Railway surged $1.41 to $287.63.
Health-care fought its way forward, as Canopy Growth acquired 99 cents, or 3.7%, to $27.56.
Tech stocks took a nose dive, as Bombardier docked three cents to $6.77, while Shopify backtracked $25.45, or 6.1%, to $392.59.
Consumer staples dipped as Restaurant Brands International demurred $2.17, or 2.4%, to $88.54, while Loblaw Companies fell 57 cents to $70.85.
In discretionary stocks, Canada Goose Holdings slipped 56 cents, or 1.1%, to $51.13.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported that retail sales edged down 0.1% in August to $51.5 billion. Sales were down in six sub-sectors, representing 51% of retail trade.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.89 points to 540.47
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups remained in positive country through the session, with energy improving 0.7%, industrials better by 0.5%, and health-care shares inching up 0.1%.
The five laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 2.2%, while consumer staples and discretionaries each down 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors pored through a slew of key earnings from companies such as McDonald’s, Travelers, Procter & Gamble and United Technologies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 22.42 points to close up shop Tuesday at 26,805.22,
The S&P 500 subtracted 10.73 points to 2,995.99.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 58.69 points to 8,101.29.
The major indexes hit turned lower in afternoon trading after U.K. lawmakers rejected a limited time frame to review a deal on Brexit. This makes an Oct. 31 deadline extension more likely.
McDonald’s shares dropped 5%, on earnings and revenue for the previous quarter that missed analyst expectations. The company’s U.S. same-store sales, a key metric for franchises, grew by 4.8%. That’s below an estimate of 5.1%.
Travelers plunged more than 8% after reporting earnings that badly missed estimates.
United Technologies shares rose 2.2% after the company posted earnings that topped analyst expectations. Better-than-expected revenues from the company’s Otis, Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace divisions helped drive the beat.
Procter & Gamble climbed 2.6% after its results topped expectations. The company’s numbers were driven by Procter’s beauty, health care and fabric and home care lines.
Through Tuesday morning, more than 19% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly numbers. Of those companies, nearly 80% have beaten analyst earnings expectations.
Biogen shares contributed to Tuesday’s gains, surging more than 26% after the drugmaker announced it will seek regulatory approval for its Alzheimer’s treatment. The stock and lifted the broader biotechnology space.
Investors also kept an eye on global trade after China’s vice foreign minister said that Beijing and Washington had achieved some progress in their trade talks.
His comments come less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump sounded optimistic about the prospect of a trade agreement by the middle of next month.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.77% from Monday’s 1.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 90 cents to $54.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $2.90 to $1,491.00 U.S. an ounce.
