Equities in Canada’s largest market dangled below the breakeven point as the clock approached noon EDT on Tuesday, weighed by a 2.4% drop in energy stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
The TSX Composite index remained in the red 23.32 points to 20,141.64
The Canadian dollar subsided 0.19 cents to 79.54 cents U.S.
Teck Resources fell 45 cents, or 1.7% to $26.90, after the miner posted second-quarter revenue and profits below analyst's expectations, followed by oil producer Suncor Energy, down 91 cents, or 3.4%, to $25.81.
BHP Group has made a $325-million approach for the Canadian nickel-copper miner Noront Resources NOT.V , rivaling an offer from Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's Wyloo Metals. Shares in Noront rocketed 24 cents, or 72.3%, to 56 cents.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Celestica, which jumped $1.32, or 14.1%, to $10.67, after an upbeat second-quarter earnings, and TFI International, which rose $8.56, or 6.5%, to $140.02, after multiples brokerages raised price targets on its stock following second-quarter results.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 8.86 points to 897.39.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative late Tuesday morning, as health-care stayed lower 3.1%, energy paled 2.5%, and materials sagged 0.7%.
The five gainers were led by real-estate, up 1.1%, while financials and industrials each gained 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell for the first time in six days on Tuesday ahead of quarterly earnings reports from several megacap technology companies.
The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 103.14 points to 35,041.17.
The S&P 500 deducted 22.86 points to 4,399.44.
The NASDAQ plummeted 210.92 points, or 1.4%, to 14,629.39.
The major averages are all slipping from their respective records reached in the previous session, on track to break their five-day winning streaks.
Shares of UPS tumbled more than 8% as the shipping company’s domestic revenue came up shy of estimates. UPS beat on the top and bottom lines, however, as a surge in e-commerce orders continued.
Tesla erased earlier gains and fell 2.5% following a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report. The electric vehicle maker passed $1 billion in quarterly net income for the first time.
The second-quarter earnings season kicked into high gear this week with Google-parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple set to report after the bell Tuesday.
So far, 88% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive EPS surprise, according to FactSet. If 88% is the final percentage, it will mark the highest percentage since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008.
Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s update on its monetary policy as the central bank’s two-day meeting began. The Federal Open Market Committee will release a statement when the meeting concludes Wednesday, followed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s news conference.
The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that there’s a risk inflation will prove to be more than just transitory, pushing central banks to take pre-emptive action.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys gained ground, lowering yields to 1.25% from Monday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell two cents to $71.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $2.50 to $1,796.70 U.S. an ounce.
