The Toronto stock market moved deeper into the red Tuesday afternoon as economic worries associated with the U.S. budget crisis sent most sectors lower.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 95.84 to close out Tuesday at 12,692.41
The Canadian dollar slid 0.53 cents to 96.44 cents U.S.
Manitoba Telecom Services declined $2.66, or 8.2%, to $29.70 after Ottawa rejected a deal that would have seen its Allstream business sold to Egyptian investment group Accelero Capital Holdings due to "unspecified national security concerns."
The base metals group plummeted as December copper lost early gains and closed unchanged at $3.29 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources slipped 76 cents, or 2.8%, to $26.57 while First Quantum Minerals toppled 39 cents, or 2.2%, to $17.55.
The gold sector lost ground Barrick Gold faded 51 cents to $18.29.
The energy component erased early gains to move down as Suncor Energy fell 80 cents to $35.78.
Talisman Energy lost early momentum to move down 29 cents to $12.86, a day after activist U.S. investor Carl Icahn disclosed he has bought more than 61.5 million shares of the energy giant for a 5.97% stake. The dip followed a 4.8% advance Monday.
Shares in food company Saputo ran up $2.14, or 4.3%, to $51.62 after the Montreal-based company entered into a $378-million agreement to buy Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company Holdings Ltd., one of Australia's biggest milk processors.
On the economic slate, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that Canadian housing starts rose more than expected in September.
The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 193,600 units last month, up from an upwardly revised 184,000 in August and surpassing analysts' expectations for 185,000.
Statistics Canada reported that out merchandise imports grew 2.1% in August, while exports were up 1.8%. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world expanded from $1.2 billion in July to $1.3 billion in August. The market call was for a negative $0.7-billion figure during the month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 8.16 points to 939.36
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, mostly, gold, which shed 2.9% of its strength, materials, demurring 2.5%, and metals and mining, which lost 2.3%.
The two gainers were consumer staples, up 0.6%, while industrials inched up but 0.01%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were having another day to forget Tuesday as investors remained nervous about a looming U.S. debt ceiling crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials jettisoned 159.71 points, or 1.1%, to end Tuesday at 14,776.50
The S&P 500 index lost 20.53 points, or 1.2%, to 1,655.59. The NASDAQ was bruised 75.54 points, or 2%, to 3,694.83
Only a handful of NASDAQ stocks were up for the day. Meanwhile, many momentum stocks that have helped push the tech-heavy index up more than 20% dropped sharply Tuesday.
Tesla and Priceline fell around 4% while Yahoo, Priceline, Facebook, Netflix and LinkedIn were down more than 5%.
Tuesday marked the eighth day of the government's shutdown. While the blue-chip Dow Index has dropped more than 300 points in that time, the markets are actually performing better than many had expected. All three major indexes remain up more than 13% for the year.
Tuesday was also the start of third-quarter earnings season, with results due after the closing bell from aluminum producer Alcoa and Yum Brands, the parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
While third quarter earnings are expected to be lackluster, investors will likely remain focused on the debt drama playing out in Washington.
Shares of J.C. Penney rose by more than 3% after the embattled retailer announced that sales were up in September from August. The company also reported a surge in online purchases during September.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury inched back, raising yields to 2.64% from Monday’s 2.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices took on 48 cents to $103.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shed five dollars to $1,319.70 U.S. an ounce.
