(CORRECTS BOND YIELD FIGURE)
Canada's main stock index dipped at open on Tuesday after a deal with the United States to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement remained elusive.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 79.72 points to begin Tuesday, the week and the month of September at 16,183
The Canadian dollar faded 0.06 cents to 75.78 cents.
Markets throughout North America were closed Monday for Labour Day
Oxford Properties Group lobbed a last-minute A$3.3 billion bid for Australian office owner Investa Office Fund, edging out an earlier offer from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group.
Britain's Royal Mail expanded into the Canadian market on Monday with the purchase of parcel delivery firm Dicom Canada for $360 million, adding to a series of recent bets on markets in Europe and North America.
Cowen and Company raised the price target on Canopy Growth to $74.00 from $56.00. Canopy shares vaulted $4.02, or 6.7%, to $63.66.
Desjardins cut the target price New Gold to $0.75 from $1.25. New Gold shares slumbered a dime, or 7.4%, to $1.18.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday notified Congress of his intent to sign a bilateral deal with Mexico, after contentious talks with Canada ended without a deal to revamp NAFTA.
On the economic beat, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped fractionally to 56.8 in August, from 56.9 in July, to signal the weakest overall improvement in business conditions since May.
The agency goes on to say slower new business growth was the main factor weighing on the headline index in August. Nonetheless, the latest reading remained well above the long-run survey average of 53.0.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 1.36 points to 723.35
All but two of the 12 subgroups were negative out of the gate, with materials and gold each slipping 1.8%, while consumer discretionary dumped 1%.
The two gainers were health-care, up 2%, and utilities, up 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday as trade tensions between the U.S. and key partners increased to start off the one of the toughest parts of the year for equity investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average staggered 67.68 points to 25,897.14, with Nike and Verizon underperforming.
The S&P 500 subsided 5.55 points to 2,895.97, with telecoms and tech lagging.
The NASDAQ fell 27.34 points to 8,082.19, led by a decline in Facebook shares.
Facebook shares dropped 3% after analysts at MoffettNathanson downgraded them to neutral from buy. The analysts a "toxic brew" of slowing sales growth and regulation risk.
Stocks are coming off their best August performance in more than four years as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ both reached all-time highs. The Dow, meanwhile, entered September just 2.5% below its record high.
September has historically been a tough part of the year for investors. Since 1950, September has been the worst month for the Dow and the broader S&P 500. The Dow averages a decline of 0.7% while the S&P 500 falls 0.5% on average in September. The NASDAQ, which was introduced in 1971, falls 0.5% on average.
Last week, the U.S. and Canada failed to secure an agreement to replace the current NAFTA pact by last Friday's deadline. While a deal has been arranged with Mexico, President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend that there was "no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal."
Shares of trade-sensitive company Caterpillar fell 1%, while Boeing dropped 0.3%.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 2.90% from Friday’s 2.87%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices perked 77 cents to $70.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $11.40 cents to $1,196.30
