Canada's main stock index opened lower on Tuesday after downbeat results from Shopify, while investors also kept an eye on the US midterm elections.
The TSX opened Tuesday lower by 283.4 at 35,517.69.
The Canadian dollar dipped three cents at 71.48 cents U.S.
Investors will also parse remarks from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem before a House of Commons finance committee for clues on the economic outlook
Markets are pricing in nearly one 25-basis-point rate hike by the BoC before the year-end.
Among company news, Topaz Energy reported better-than-expected third-quarter adjusted profit, while Toromont Industries beat quarterly revenue estimates.
Shares in Topaz weakened 74 cents, or 2.5%, $29.40, while those for Toromont triumphed $6.85, or 3.6%, to $199.91.
Fairfax Financial Holdings' proposed $5.5-billion takeover of IDBI Bank is facing opposition from employees and political parties over the lender's valuation and Indian government's stake-sale process
Fairfax shares leaped $16.04, or 0.6%, to begin Tuesday at $2,506.65.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange plunged 2.69 points to 798.14.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were lower, as information technology collapsed 2.6%, while consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks each gave back 1.2%.
The two gainers proved to be health-care, up 2.9%, and utilities, ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ Composite rose on Tuesday as investors moved back into key technology stocks after recent pressure and geared up for the U.S. midterm elections.
The Dow Jones Industrial index sank 270.04 points to 51,713.94.
The S&P 500 index gained 24.17 points to 7,565.57.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ jumped 174.19 points, to 25,338.55.
Apple fell 2% after the consumer tech giant rolled out a disappointing margin forecast and iPad sales in the fiscal fourth quarter missed the Street’s estimates.
Conversely, shares of chipmakers saw gains. Advanced Micro Devices advanced 4%, while Broadcom rose more than 3%. Micron Technology, Nvidia and Intel each gained nearly 3%.
Investors are also focusing their attention on the midterm elections on Tuesday, where prediction market traders see a nearly 75% likelihood of Democrats taking the Senate.
A sweep of the House and Senate by Democrats could weigh on the broader market on Wednesday — and spark a selloff in artificial intelligence stocks especially — as investors have not firmly positioned for that outcome. If Republicans retain control of the Senate or both chambers, however, the market may see gains in the short term.
Even with President Donald Trump in the White House, a victory by Democrats in either the House or Senate could shape investigations and oversight in Washington — which is key for industries like defense, AI and healthcare.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.95% from Monday’s 4.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up nine cents to $96.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $31.70 to $3,937.90 U.S. an ounce.
