Stocks in Canada’s largest centre retreated a second day on Tuesday as crude prices extended losses before weekly U.S. government stockpile data and the first of the nation’s energy producers reported a slump in quarterly earnings, hinting at more carnage for the beleaguered industry.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 232.11 points, or 1.8%, to conclude Tuesday at 12,442.26.
The Canadian dollar ducked back 0.38 cents to 71.31 cents U.S.
Imperial Oil Ltd. tumbled 75 cents, or 1.8%, to $41.08, after saying fourth-quarter profit sank 85%.
Imperial reported net income in the quarter fell to 12 cents a share from 79 cents a year earlier. Output for the company in the quarter averaged 400,000 barrels per day, compared with 315,000 barrels a year earlier.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. plunged $2.07, or 11.1% to a three-year low of $16.63, after quarterly earnings missed estimates.
Royal Bank of Canada faded $1.19, or 1.7%, to $70.08, and Manulife Financial Corp. retreated $1.00, or 5.2%, to $18.21, to lead the nation’s largest financial services companies lower.
Mining stocks also had their worries, as Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan dipped 96 cents, or 4.3%, to $21.17, while Teck Resources collapsed 23 cents, or 4.5%, to $4.84.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 6.04 points, to 494.40
All but one of the 13 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, metals and mining taking the hardest hit, down 6.2%, while energy weakened 3.6%., and industrials flopped 3.3%.
Only utilities were in the green, and only 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Tuesday as renewed declines in oil prices weighed amid mixed reaction to some key earnings reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average swooned 295.64 points, or 1.8%, to close at 16,153.54. Goldman Sachs accounted for about 53 points off the index.
The S&P 500 pointed downward 35.42 points, or 1.8%, to 1,903.96. Financials were the second-worst decliner in the S&P 500 and the worst performing sector year-to-date, down nearly 12%.
The NASDAQ index dropped 81.31 points, or 1.8%, to 4,538.86, as Apple, biotechs and several major tech stocks declined.
Alphabet, Google's parent company, more than halved gains but still closed up 1.3% to top Apple as the world's most valuable company.
Facebook gave up gains and closed 0.4% lower, while Amazon closed down nearly 4%.
Avis Budget and American Airlines were the main decliners among Dow transport stocks. UPS was the only gainer, closing up 0.7% after reporting significantly higher quarterly net profit and gave a solid outlook for the year. The firm also reported improved margins in all three of its business units.
Shares of Exxon Mobil closed off session lows but still ended down 2.2% after the firm reported a 58% drop in profit, hurt by low oil prices. The world's largest publicly traded oil company also said it would cut spending this year by one-quarter
In U.S. corporate news, Mattel reported earnings that beat estimates by six cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 67 cents U.S. per share, and revenue also came in above analyst forecasts. Mattel's bottom line was helped by its first quarterly sales increase in more than two years, helped by renewed popularity for Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels toys.
Michael Kors beat estimates by 13 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.59 U.S. per share, and revenue also came in above forecasts. The luxury goods maker was helped by particular strength in accessories and footwear.
Auto sales for January came in at a 17.58-million-unit annual rate, the strongest January since 2000. No other major data was due out Tuesday, with most observers awaiting Friday's jobs report.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained sharply, lowering yields to 1.86% from Monday’s 1.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gave back $1.69 a barrel to $29.93 U.S.
Gold prices gained 79 cents to $1,129.20 U.S. an ounce.
