Stocks in Toronto remained in something of a rut Tuesday, stuck in the suspense of when and how a rate cut would come from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 26.12 points to end Tuesday to 16,466.05
The Canadian dollar regained 0.06 cents to 76.04 cents U.S.
Consumer discretionary took the brunt of investor indifference, as The Stars Group gave back 66 cents, or 3%, to $21.28, while Restaurant Brands International moved downward $1.90, or 1.9%, to $96.59.
Telecoms took some lumps, too, as Quebecor was bruised 53 cents, or 1.8%, to $29.70, while Cineplex dipped 41 cents, or 1.7%, to $23.79.
Consumer staples were badly off as well, as Saputo skidded 59 cents, or 1.5%, to $39.83, while Metro suffered 53 cents, or 1%, to $51.63.
Energy stocks tried to pick up the slack, as Precision Drilling took for the sky, gaining 16 cents, or 7.5%, to $2.30. Seven Generations Energy leaped 41 cents, or 6.7%, to $6.51.
In the materials sector, MAG Silver was 57 cents, or 3.7%, to the good, to $16.11, while Nutrien popped $4.79, or 7.2%, to $71.34
Gold stocks made gains, as Alacer Gold tacked on 15 cents, or 3%, to $5.20, while OceanaGold hiked 13 cents, or 3.5%, to $3.80.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 2.71 points to 593.83
All but three of the 12 Toronto subgroups were negative on the day, as consumer discretionary stocks bowed 1.1%, while communications dipped 0.9%, and consumer staples slid 0.8%.
The three gainers were energy, shooting up 2.3%, materials, better by 1.1%, gold stocks, improving 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday after President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on China, decreasing hope the two largest world economies will reach a trade deal. Investors also braced for a key announcement on U.S. monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off their lows of the morning, but still fell 23.33 points to 27,198.02
The S&P 500 slipped 7.79 points to 3,013.18
The NASDAQ slid 19.72 points to 8,273.61
Meanwhile, earnings season continued as Merck, Procter & Gamble and GrubHub released their quarterly results.
Merck posted earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations, sending the stock up 1%. The company said sales of its cancer-treating drug Keytruda surged 58% in the previous quarter.
Procter & Gamble climbed more than 3% and hit an all-time high on the back of fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat analyst expectations. GrubHub, however, fell more than 12% after posting a disappointing profit.
More than 52% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results thus far. Reportedly, 75% of those companies have posted a better-than-forecast profit.
Tech giant Apple is scheduled to release its results Tuesday after the bell.
Trump said in a series of tweets Tuesday that China is not keeping its promise of buying more U.S. agricultural products, adding: "China is doing very badly, worst year in 27 - was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now - no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don’t come through."
China and the U.S. agreed to restart trade talks late last month after they fell through in May.
The Fed will announce its latest decision on whether to adjust interest rates at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury regained lost ground, lowering yields back to Monday’s 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gained $1.36 to $58.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices spiked $11.10 to $1,431.50 U.S. an ounce.
