The Toronto stock market endured a sharply lower open Tuesday amid a number of concerns, including the failure of Japan's central bank to unveil more measures to boost the country's economy and a court challenge on the legality of the European Central Bank's approach to the euro crisis.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 114.75 points to begin Tuesday at 12,267.92
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.05 cents to 98.05 cents U.S.
On the corporate front, Lululemon Athletica Inc. was also in focus after CEO Christine Day said after the close Monday she was stepping down. She will remain in the job until a successor is named. Lululemon shares plunged $13.71, or 16.3%, to $70.32.
In other corporate developments, Telus Corp. has called off its plan to buy small wireless provider Mobilicity after Ottawa signalled last week that it would not allow the deal. Mobilicity, which has about 250,000 customers, said Monday that it will instead go ahead with a recapitalization plan.
The deal had required the federal government to make an exception to certain rules and allow the larger company to transfer ownership of wireless spectrum owned by Mobilicity. Telus shares docked 30 cents to $34.41
Gold shares took yet another pounding in the early going Tuesday, with Golden Star Resources off four cents, or 6.1%, to 62 cents.
Kinross Gold docked 23 cents, or 3.6%, to $6.21.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 8.76 points to 937.96
All but one of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed by gold, down 2%, while materials slid 1.7%, and global base metals sagged 1.6%.
The one stalwart was in health-care, up 2.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell sharply in early trading Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved downward 99.30 points to open the session at 15,139.30
The S&P 500 index slid 16.28 points to 1,626.53. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite dropped 27.47 to 3,446.29
All three indices are still up between 14% and 15% this year.
After climbing steadily for the first part of the year, U.S. stocks have been choppy in recent weeks as investors try to gauge when the Federal Reserve will begin to slow the pace of its bond buying.
On the corporate front, Lululemon shares tanked tanked after the yogawear maker announced that CEO Christine Day is stepping down.
Shares of Sprint Nextel rose after SoftBank, Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, increased its takeover offer.
Shares of Dole Foods surged after the company said its chairman and CEO, David Murdock, made a cash offer to buy the 60.5% of the company he doesn't already own. Murdock offered to pay a 17.6% premium to Monday's close.
Shares of aircraft maker Boeing slipped after the company trimmed its 20-year forecast for widebody jet demand, even as it raised its forecast for single-aisle jets.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury slumped, raising yields to 2.26% from Monday’s 2.22%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were down $1.27 to $94.50 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices off $15.90 to $1,370.10 U.S. an ounce
