Equities in Toronto took a step backward on Tuesday to begin the month of August, with resource and health-care stocks weighing much of the market down.
The TSX gave back 93.71 points to conclude Tuesday at 20,532.93.
The Canadian dollar shed 0.05 cents to 75.26 cents U.S.
Gold staggered Tuesday, with Centerra Gold down 58 cents, or 6.9%, to $7.88, while Equinox Gold fell 32 cents, or 4.6%, to $6.80.
In health-care, Tilray retreated 15 cents, or 4.5%, to $3.16, while Bausch Health Companies handed back 22 cents, or 1.7%, to $12.60.
In materials. Silvercrest Metals got clobbered $1.61, or 21.3%, to $5.94, while MAG Silver jettisoned 68 cents, or 4.3%, to $15.24.
Energy led those sectors making their way upward, specifically, Paramount Resources, grabbing 67 cents, or 2.2%, to $31.84, while NuVista picked up 19 cents, or 1.7%, to $11.58.
In industrials, units of Brookfield Business Partners jumped 85 cents in price, or 3.8%, to $23.46, while TFI International hiked $5.54, or 3.2%, to $174.79.
Communications also found their way into the green, with Rogers better by 33 cents to $58.07, while TELUS took on seven cents to $23.55.
On the economic calendar, the Global S&P Manufacturing PMI rose to 49.6, from 48.8 in June, but the headline index pointed to the slowest deterioration in operating conditions in the current contractionary sequence.
A dock workers' union on Canada's West Coast and port employers have provisionally agreed to a new labour contract, averting an immediate strike, diminishing worries of supply-chain constraints and inflation.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange turned downward 4.84 points, to 622.68.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups declined, with gold off 2.8%, health-care falling 2%, and materials stumbling 1.8%.
The three gainers were energy, up 0.2%, industrials, up 0.1%, and communications edging ahead 0.03%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell to start August, as investors navigated a flood of corporate earnings reports and assessed a fresh batch of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 71.02 points to conclude Tuesday at 35,630.55
The S&P 500 Index fell back 12.24 points to 4,576.72.
The NASDAQ index slid 62.11 points to 14,283.91.
Pharmaceutical giant Merck pulled back even after reporting a smaller-than-expected loss and revenue that exceeded expectations thanks to strong Keytruda sales. Caterpillar reported strong results, boosting shares 8%.
Pfizer fell after posting mixed results due to plummeting COVID product sales, while Uber slid more than 5% on mixed earnings.
This week marks the busiest stretch of second-quarter earnings with more than 160 S&P 500 constituents slated to report results. More than half of the companies in the broad market index have already reported, with 82% topping earnings expectations. This has fueled some hopes that the economy will be able to avoid a recession as inflation shows signs of cooling.
Despite the performance so far, analysts are bracing for a 7.1% earnings decline from a year
Prices for the 10-year Treasury tumbled, raising yields to 4.03% from Monday’s 3.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 23 cents to $81.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices darkened $27.10 to $1,982.10 U.S. an ounce.
