The TSX was sharply lower Tuesday afternoon, hurt by wider losses in utilities and industrials that offset modest gains in energy and materials.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained negative 109.49 points to close at 15,043.15
The Canadian dollar gained 0.56 cents to 83.21 cents U.S.
The utilities group led the decline, as Fortis Group dropped $1.11, or 2.8% to $38.25
Industrials followed closely, as SNC Lavalin fell $1.47, or 3.3%, to $43.15
The heavyweight financial sector eased, as TMX Group swooned $2.82, or 5.1%, to $52.34.
Meanwhile, gains for energy stocks were down as Pacific Rubiales faltered 19 cents, or 3.1%, to $5.96.
The most actively traded stock was Encana, which went south 15 cents, or 0.9%, to $16.67, on 5.9 million shares.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.07 points to 681.82
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down on the day, as utilities careened 1.6%, industrials were 1.5% weaker, and consumer staples were 1.1% to the bad.
The lone two gainers were gold, up 0.6%, and metals and mining, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed mildly lower on Tuesday, recovering from sharp morning losses as investors found some relief from a slight recovery in bonds.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained negative 36.94 points to 18,068.23, with Intel the greatest laggard and Wal-Mart leading gainers.
The S&P 500 index fell 6.21 points short of breakeven to 2,099.12, with materials leading eight sectors lower and energy and telecommunications the only advancers.
The NASDAQ fell 17.39 points to 4,976.19
In stock news, Castleton Commodities International will buy Morgan Stanley's physical oil business in a long-awaited deal.
Verizon is buying AOL for $50 per share or $4.4 billion U.S. in cash, with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong continuing to lead the company after it becomes a wholly owned Verizon subsidiary. The Internet firm surged more than 18.6% on the news, while Verizon closed down 0.4%.
The government said MetLife's suit fighting its so-called "SIFI" designation should be dismissed. The insurer earlier this year challenged the decision to designate it as systemically important and subject to tighter scrutiny. The Justice Department said MetLife is "significantly interconnected" with other financial companies.
Meanwhile, Apple is in talks with Alibaba to bring its mobile payments system to China, according to an interview with Chinese news agency Xinhua.
The Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey showed new hires and job openings little changed.
The U.S. budget surplus for April was $157 billion, a 47% jump from the same period last year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said.
European equities slid in trade on Tuesday, with the benchmark German DAX index around 2.2% lower.
Greece emptied an emergency IMF holding account to repay 750 million euros ($839 million U.S.) due to the international lender, a
Greek central bank official said in a Reuters report. The move avoided default but underscored the dire state of the country's finances.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries recovered, lowering yields to 2.25% from Monday’s 2.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.13 a barrel to $60.38 U.S.
Gold prices gained $9.60 to $1,192.60 U.S.
