Canada's benchmark stock index fell on Tuesday, led by financials after two top lenders pointed to economic pain ahead with higher loan loss provisions and a fall in quarterly profits.
The TSX shed 40.04 points to move into Tuesday afternoon at 20,220.04.
The Canadian dollar doffed 0.13 cents to 73.53 cents U.S.
Bank of Nova Scotia tumbled $3.06, or 4.3%, to $68.47, and Bank of Montreal fell $1.70, or 1.3%, to $129.12, fueling a slump in the dominant financials sector, which was set for a 1% monthly decline.
Baytex Energy slumped 47 cents, or 8.1%, to $5.36, after the oil and gas producer agreed to buy U.S. peer Ranger Oil for $2.5 billion.
Restaurants Brands International slid 82 cents to $87.81, after the Tim Hortons owner priced its secondary offering lower than the stock's last close on Monday.
Africa Oil slumped 20 cents, or 6.9%, to the bottom of the index at $2.70, after reporting a quarterly loss.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that our Gross Domestic Product was nearly unchanged in the fourth quarter, following five consecutive quarterly increases.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 1.55 points to 626.38.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were losing ground, with consumer staples, financials and energy each down 0.5%.
The three gainers were materials and gold, each up 0.8%, and information technology, up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Tuesday as traders wrapped up a tough month for the stock market.
The 30-stock index tumbled 142.07 points to 32,747.02.
The S&P 500 fell 1.42 points to 3,980.82.
The NASDAQ Composite poked ahead 15.70 points to 11,482.68.
Tuesday marks the last day of February. Despite a solid start to the year, the major indexes are on pace for their second negative month in three.
The Dow is down 4% for the month and is down year to date. The S&P 500 has lost 2.5%, and NASDAQ has handed over 1% in February.
Those losses came after a strong start to the year for stocks; the S&P 500 rallied more than 6% in January.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury surged, lowering yields to 3.94% from Monday’s 3.93%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.69 to $77.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $9.30 to $1,834.20 U.S. an ounce.
