Equities finished in negative territory Tuesday, after a volatile day that saw, at one point, stocks reaching into triple digits on the plus side.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index said goodbye to gains made during the day, and finished in the red 60.45 points to end Tuesday at 14,667.83
The Canadian dollar nicked ahead 0.02 cents to 74.66 U.S.
Health-care stocks led the charge Tuesday, with Canopy Growth Corp. climbing $2.78, or 6.7%, to $44.48, while Bausch Health Companies improved 36 cents, or 1.2%, to $31.01.
Consumer staples proved also a key player, as Metro picked up 25 cents to $46.92, while Saputo acquired a nickel to $40.63.
Tech stocks also prospered, as Shopify rocketed $4.58, or 2.3%, to $207.81
Energy pointed downward, as Imperial Oil lost 74 cents, or 2%, to $35.76, while Canadian Natural Resources dipped $1.10, or 3.1%, to $34.88.
In the consumer discretionary field, Roots Inc. doffed three cents to $3.18, while Canadian Tire shed $1.58, or 1.1%, to $141.93.
Financials also paled, as Royal Bank docked 58 cents to $93.51, while Scotiabank dived 27 cents to $71.57.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 0.65 points to 564.14.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, as health-care flourished 2.9%, consumer staples improved 0.4%, and real-estate snuck ahead 0.1%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by energy, shedding 1.5%, consumer discretionary issues, off 0.9%, and gold, down 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower on Tuesday after alternating between gains and losses throughout the session in the latest bout of market volatility.
The 30-stock index plunged 53.02 points to 24,370.24. At its high of the day, the Dow rose as much as 368 points. It also fell as much as 202 points.
The S&P 500 stumbled 0.94 points to 2,636.78.
The NASDAQ kept gains of 11.31 points to 7,031.83.
Equities have been increasingly volatile of late. The Dow and S&P 500 are both down more than 1% for the year after hitting all-time highs.
Equities fell to their lows of the day around noon after a contentious fight between President Donald Trump and Democratic leadership over border security. Trump threatened to shut down the government if more money was not allocated towards building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Bloomberg News reported earlier on Tuesday that China is moving toward cutting tariffs on cars made in the U.S. to 15% from the current 40%. The proposal has been submitted to the Chinese Cabinet and will be reviewed in the coming days, the report says.
Caterpillar shares forgot earlier gains and lost 15 cents, to $123.24, while Deere lost three cents to $147.00. These stocks are seen as bellwethers for global trade because of their exposure to overseas markets.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury were lower, raising yields to 2.88% from Monday’s 2.86%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices improved 72 cents to $51.72 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices settled $1.50 to $1,247.90 U.S. an ounce.
