Equities in Canada’s largest market opened lower on Tuesday, dragged down by weakness in material stocks, on worries that a spike in inflation could dent a vaccine-led economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX Composite collapsed 246.48 points, or 1.3%, to kick off Tuesday at 18,170.26.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.11 cents to 79.19 cents U.S.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners on Monday formally launched a hostile bid to buy Inter Pipeline with the same $16.50-per-share offer the Canadian oil and gas transportation company had rejected as inadequate weeks ago.
Brookfield units backpedaled 56 cents to $66.78, while shares in Inter dropped 40 cents, or 2.3%, to $17.41.
Bank of Nova Scotia beat analyst estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as it set aside lower-than-expected funds for loan loss provisions and its wealth management unit performed well.
Scotiabank shares galloped $1.38, or 1.9%, to $73.46.
Thomson Reuters reported higher fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday and said it would start a two-year program that will change it from a holding company to an operating company.
Thomson sprinted $7.40, or 7.3%, to $108.66.
Canaccord Genuity raised the target price on Calian Group to $77.00 from $75.00. Calian shares acquired 47 cents to $60.07.
CIBC cuts rating on Just Energy Group to underperform from neutral. Just shares skidded 57 cents, or 11.5%, to $4.39.
TD Securities raised the price target on Solaris Resources to $11.00 from $10.00. Solaris ducked 26 cents, or 3.6%, to $7.01.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tumbled 65.47 points, or 6.1%, to start things off at 1,017.49.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative in the first hour, with health-care sicker by 8.6%, information technology down 4.8%, and gold, slipping 3.2%.
The two gainers were financials, climbing 0.7%, and communications, eking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Steep losses in technology shares dragged down the S&P 500 on Tuesday as a continuous rise in bond yields dented the appetite for growth stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 179.85 points to 31,341.84.
The S&P 500 sank 34.58 points to 3,841.92.
The NASDAQ Composite descended 292.53 points, or 2.2%, to 13,240.52, as Tesla shares slid 8.6%. Big Tech stocks came under pressure with Apple, Amazon and Microsoft all dropping at least 2%.
All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who delivers his semi-annual testimony on the economy before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. His comments on rates and inflation could determine the market direction for the week.
On the pandemic front, the White House said that it expects to ship out millions of delayed coronavirus vaccine doses this week after a sweeping winter storm disrupted logistics. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that a New York resident has tested positive for the COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys lost some ground, raising yields to 1.37% from Monday’s 1.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 29 cents to $61.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $7.10 to $1,801.30
