Equities in Toronto fell on Tuesday as broad declines among oil and gas companies, partly hurt by a slide in crude oil prices, offset a moderate rise by Bank of Nova Scotia and slight gains in other sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index shed 41.72 points to greet noon at 15,380.19
The Canadian dollar cleared breakeven 0.01 cents at 74.25 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Canadian Natural Resources, which retreated 1.8% to $39.08, and Cenovus Energy, which declined 3.4% to $12.38. The energy group, which make up about a fifth of the index, tumbled, having plumbed an eight-month low.
Shares in Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd debuted at $16.06 on the TSX after raising $1.75 billion in an initial public offering at $17.00 each last week.
The financials group slipped as small but influential dips in most bank shares offset Scotiabank's 0.6% rise to $76.61. Scotiabank, which experts say has the biggest foreign presence of any Canadian bank, reported second-quarter results that beat analyst expectations, helped in part by its international business.
Canadian National Railway, which averted a strike after reaching a tentative deal on Monday with the Teamsters union that represents 3,000 conductors, rose 0.8% rise to $104.21.
On the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported that its industrial product price index rose 0.6% in April, mainly due to higher prices for energy and petroleum products. StatsCan also said its raw materials price index hiked 1.6% in April, mainly as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
Elsewhere, the agency reported that Canada's current account deficit (on a seasonally adjusted basis) widened by $2.3 billion in the first quarter to $14.1 billion. In the financial account, large foreign investment in Canadian corporate securities led the net inflow of funds into the economy.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 3.87 points to 805.87
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups had moved into the red by noon hour, with energy stumbling 1.8%, health-care down 1.2%, and information technology off 0.5%.
The five gainers were co-led upward by consumer staples, consumer discretionaries, and telecoms, each climbing 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded mixed on Tuesday as investors digested key economic data, while tech stocks continued to rise.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 36.08 points to pause for lunch at 21,044.20, with Goldman Sachs the biggest weight.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.5 points to 2,413.32, with energy leading decliners, but a slight gain in the information technology helped cap losses. Tech has been on fire this year, rising nearly 20%.
The NASDAQ stepped back 5.63 points from Friday’s all-time record to 6,204.57, despite shares of Amazon breaking above $1,000 for the first time.
U.S. stock markets were closed Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday.
Economically speaking, personal income south of the border rose 0.4% in April, in line with expectations, and consumer spending increased by 0.4%. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, rose 0.2%.
Meanwhile, U.S. home prices rose 5.8% in March, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.
Other data released Tuesday include consumer confidence reading for May, which came in at 117.9, slightly below a consensus estimate of 119.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told the media on Tuesday he sees U.S. growth to remain near 2% and not the 3% or more forecast by President Donald Trump's administration.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.22% from Friday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 64 cents to $49.16 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices retreated $5.90 at $1,265.50 U.S. an ounce.
