Canada's main stock index barely made its way into the green as Tuesday morning became afternoon, after a report that Iran preparing to launch a missile attack on Israel unnerved investors, although a jump in energy stocks helped limit losses.
The TSX Composite Index poked 4.88 points by noon to 24,005.25.
For September, the index rose 2.8%, while it was up 9.7% in the third quarter, as the Bank of Canada cut interest rates three times since June and after the Federal Reserve began its own easing campaign last month.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 cents to 74.12 cents U.S.
On the economic scene, the seasonally-adjusted S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing PMI registering 50.4, up from 49.5 in August, edging back above the critical 50.0 no-change mark in September to signal a first improvement in operating conditions since April 2023.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.65 points to 581.77.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups had lost ground midday, weighed most by information technology, down 1.7%, health-care, off 0.8%, and communications, sliding 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by energy, rumbling 2.7% higher, while gold brightened 0.9%, and materials edged higher 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slipped Tuesday as what appeared to be an escalating situation in the Middle East poured water on investor enthusiasm coming off a strong quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average clambered lower 153.32 points Tuesday afternoon at 42,176.83.
The S&P 500 index sank 54.21 points to 5,708.27
The NASDAQ Composite swooned 291.3 points, or 1.6%, to 17,897.87.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil spiked as a senior White House official told NBC News that there are “indications” that Iran is preparing to launch a ballistic missile directly at Israel. A jump in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, above 20 underscored the rising concern among traders.
Tech names felt the brunt of Tuesday’s declines, explaining the Nasdaq’s outsized losses. Tesla slid 4%, while Nvidia and Apple dropped more than 3%. But Facebook parent Meta bucked this trend, rising near all-time highs.
Tuesday’s pullback comes after the S&P 500 and the Dow notched closing records in the previous session, which marked the end of the trading month and quarter. September is typically the worst month of the year for stocks, but this time it broke with past trends.
All three major averages posted monthly gains, and it was the first positive September for the S&P 500 since 2019. The S&P 500, Dow and NASDAQ also ended the third quarter in positive territory.
On the economic data front, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for August is due Tuesday morning. The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index and the ISM Manufacturing PMI readings are also slated for release.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury hiked, lowering yields to 3.72% from Monday’s 3.79%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.71 at $70.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices soared $23.70 to $2,683.10 U.S. an ounce
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