Equities in Canada’s largest market tumbled on Tuesday, led by sharp declines in energy stocks as crude prices slid on fears of a global recession.
The S&P/TSX fell 238.3 points, or 1.3%, to open Tuesday at 18,790.56.
The Canadian dollar removed 0.97 cents to 76.79 cents U.S.
Canadian National Railway said a strike by unionized signals and communications workers would end on Tuesday after the company and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers agreed to binding arbitration.
CN shares gained 38 cents to $146.57.
TD Securities cut the rating on Bolarex to buy from action list buy. Boralex shares dipped 70 cents, or 1.6%, to $42.92.
H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage on Sernova Corp. with a “buy" rating and a target price of $6.00. Sernova shares lost a penny to $1.14.
Cowen and Company cut the target price on Aurora Cannabis to $1.85 from $4.00. Aurora shares were down one cent to $1.68.
On the macroeconomic slate, the value of building permits rose 2.3% in May to $12.1 billion, according to Statistics Canada.
The agency went on to say non-residential sector increased 7.0% to $4.3 billion, while the residential sector edged down 0.1% to $7.8 billion.
The Canadian embassy in Beijing says Chinese authorities have blocked Canadian government representatives from attending the trial of Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua, five years after Xiao vanished from Hong Kong during an anti-corruption crackdown.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 6.81 points or 1.1%, to 616.42.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups slumped in the first hour, as energy skidded 4.9%, materials lost 3.1%, and gold faded 1.9%.
The two gainers proved to be communications, up 0.4%, and consumer staples, ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday as concerns about a possible recession in the U.S. weighed on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 626.03 points, or 2%, to 30.471.23.
The S&P 500 sagged 79.43 points, or 2%, to 3,745.90.
The NASDAQ Composite plunged 191.63 points, or 1.7%, to 10.936.21.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the 4th of July.
Stocks tied to economic growth fell sharply on Tuesday. Shares of JPMorgan and Wells Fargo shed 2.5% and 2.7%, respectively. American Airlines fell more than 4%. Machinery stocks Deere and Caterpillar hit their lowest levels of the year.
Shares of Ford fell nearly 5% after the automaker’s second-quarter sales rose more slowly than expected.
Concerns about economic growth are hanging over investors as the U.S. market looks to recover after a rough first half to the year. Some economists believe U.S. GDP declined for both quarters to start the year, which is a shorthand used by many to signal a recession.
The price of oil also declined, reflecting a possible economic slowdown. Futures for U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell below $105 per barrel. Shares of oil giant Chevron dropped nearly 3%.
Among major tech stocks, Amazon fell more than 2% and electric automaker Tesla slid 3.7%.
In this shortened holiday week, investors are looking ahead to the release of June jobs report data on Friday. According to Dow Jones
estimates, job growth likely slowed in June with 250,000 nonfarm payrolls added, down from 390,000 in May. Economists surveyed expect
the unemployment rate to hold at 3.6%.
This week’s economic calendar also includes Wednesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. May factory orders are expected for Tuesday, with earnings from WD-40 and Levi Strauss scheduled for Friday.
Treasury prices poked slightly higher, lowering yields to 2.82% from Friday’s 2.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost $5.31 to $103.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $14.80 to $1,786.70 U.S. an ounce.
