Equities in Toronto took a few knocks at the close of Tuesday’s trading, as investors displayed their nerves on the eve of tomorrow’s Bank of Canada rate announcement.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 138.51 points to conclude Tuesday at 21,978.18.
The Canadian dollar let go of 0.25 cents at 73.12 cents U.S.
Materials weighed most heavily on the index, with SSR Mining losing 61 cents, or 8.5% to $6.44, while Ero Copper lost $1.95, or 7%, to $26.10.
Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold ditched $1.19, or 5%, to $22.57, while Kinross Gold lost 55 cents, or 5%, to $10.48.
Energy stocks were also bruised, primarily, Precision Drilling, giving back $3.73, or 3.9%, to $91.82, while Veren Inc. slid 44 cents, or 3.9%, to $10.73.
Consumer staples tried to balance things out, with Metro Inc. up $1.93, or 2.7%, to $74.83, while North West Company picked up 95 cents, or 2.5%, to $38.93.
Industrials were also in the plus column, with GFL climbing $3.27, or 6.9%, to $50.65, while Badger Infrastructure tacked on $1.43, or 3.6%, to $41.65.
In utilities, Innergex Renewable sprinted 43 cents, or 4.3%, to $10.33, while Hydro One gained 60 cents, or 1.5%, to $40.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange swooned 10.49 points, or 1.7%, to 595.43.
Seven of the 12 subgroups lost ground, with materials blundering 4%, gold staggering 3.8%, and energy falling 2.1%.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, up 0.7%, while industrials improved 0.4%, and utilities eked up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher Tuesday as Wall Street looked to find its footing after an uneven start to the month.
The 30-stock index gained a solid 140.06 points to conclude Tuesday at 38,711.04.
The S&P 500 worked its way into the win column, gaining 7.93 points to 5,291.33.
The NASDAQ recovered 28.38 points to 16,857.05.
Dow Inc., 3M and Caterpillar, fell more than 1%, keeping gains for the Dow in check. Bath & Body Works was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, losing 12% on the back of disappointing guidance.
Investors also parsed a fresh reading on job openings. employment data from the Labor Department showed 8.059 million vacancies in April, the lowest level in over three years. An estimate from Dow Jones called for 8.4 million openings.
Investors want a labour market that’s weak enough to allow the central bank to cut interest rates, but not so weak that it causes worry over a potential recession rise.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.33% from Monday’s 4.40%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 91 cents to $73.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $22.20 to $2,347.10
