Equities in Canada’s largest market made a try at ending a two-session slump on Tuesday, with the materials sector leading the declines as gold prices eased to a one-week low.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 23.26 points to begin the session at 16,486.21
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.13 cents to 76.22 cents U.S.
The biggest percentage gainers on the TSX were Richelieu Hardware, which jumped 24 cents, or 1%, to $24.68, followed by shares of Genworth MI Canada, which rose $1.13, or 2.6%, to $44.21.
RBC, incidentally, raised the rating on Genworth to outperform from sector perform
Canntrust Holdings fell 33 cents, or 6.6%, to $4.67, while shares of First Quantum Minerals were down 92 cents, or 8%, to $10.63.
Canaccord Genuity cut the rating on Source Energy Services to hold from speculative buy. Source gave back five cents to $7.16.
J.P. Morgan cut the target price on Teck Resources to $50.00 from $55.00. Teck slumbered 52 cents, or 1.8%, to $27.90.
Economically speaking, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts rose to 245,657 units from a revised 196,809 units in May. Economists had projected starts to rise to 210,000.
Elsewhere, Statistics Canada said, following a record $9.5 billion in April, the value of permits issued by Canadian municipalities declined 13.0% to $8.2 billion in May, largely due to a drop in British Columbia. Excluding B.C., the national value of permits rose 3.2%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 1.1 points to 586.93
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower to start, as health-care dwindled 1%, materials slid 0.5%, and utilities dipped 0.1%.
The four gainers were led by consumer staples, ahead 1%, information technology, advancing 0.7%, and energy, 0.5% more energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday as investors awaited more clues on the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy move.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 112.4 points to start at 26,693.74, headed for its third straight decline.
The S&P 500 leaned 3.8 points lower to 2,972.15
The NASDAQ Composite gained 8.06 points to 8,106.44
Shares of 3M pressured the Dow. The stock fell more than 1% after an analyst at RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to sector perform from outperform amid worries over the macro economic environment and overhang from litigation.
In corporate news, PepsiCo shares rose 1% after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Levi Strauss is scheduled to report quarterly numbers after the bell. Netflix shares rose more than 1.5% after the streaming company said the third season of “Stranger Things” posted a viewership record.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. This comes just after a stronger-than-expected jobs report raised questions about the central bank’s rate policy.
Investors will be looking for clues on whether the Fed will cut rates later this month, as it is widely expected, or if the central bank thinks the economy is strong enough to maintain current economic policy.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, raising yields to 2.06%, from Monday’s 2.05%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up eight cents to $57.74 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $4.70 to $1,394.50 U.S. an ounce.
