Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday as domestic manufacturing activity slowed in August amid global trade worries, while a sharp slide in oil prices weighed on energy shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 66.12 points to greet noon at 16,375.95
The Canadian dollar faded 0.09 cents to 74.94 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were First Majestic Silver, which jumped 88 cents, or 6.1% and Kirkland Lake Gold, which rose $1.81, or 2.8%, to $66.55
Baytex Energy fell eight cents, or 4.7%, the most on the TSX, to $1.64. The second biggest decliner was CannTrust Holdings, down 10 cents, or 4.4%, to $2.20.
On the economic front, the IHS Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index, a measure of manufacturing business conditions, fell to a seasonally adjusted 49.1 in August, a three-month low, from 50.2 in July.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained positive 2.08 points to 591.44
The 12 Toronto subgroups were split down the middle midday, as gold hiked 2.3%, materials bettered themselves 1.2%, and utilities improved 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by a 2.2% loss in energy stocks, while financials faded 0.9%, and industrials skidded 0.8%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday, the first trading day of the month, after the world’s two largest economies began imposing new tariffs on each other’s goods. Weak manufacturing data also dented investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average stumbled 310.30 points, or 1.2%, to 26,092.98, off its lows of the morning.
The S&P 500 dipped 19 points, to 2,907.36
The NASDAQ Composite fell 62.63 points to 7,875.58.
The Dow dropped 1.7% and S&P 500 lost 1.8% in August. The NASDAQ chopped 2.6% last month.
Chipmakers such as Nvidia lost 1.2%, and Skyworks Solutions fell 2.2%. Retail stocks Ulta Beauty, Tiffany and Nike all traded lower. Boeing and Caterpillar both declined more than 2% while Apple descended 1.7%. Boeing was also under pressure after a report said the 737 Max jet could remain grounded through the holiday season.
Equities hit their session lows after the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted last month for the first time since early 2016.
The U.S. imposed 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday, while China imposed new charges on U.S. products from Sept. 1. It marked the latest escalation in their long-running trade war.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, pushing yields down to 1.45% from Friday’s 1.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices gave back $1.66 to $53.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $28.00 to $1,557.40 U.S. an ounce.
