Canada's main stock index tumbled to its lowest point in over a month on Tuesday, dragged down by weakness in materials shares, as investors remained cautious due to heightened tensions in the Middle East.
The TSX Composite had lost 178.33 points to nearing noon hour EDT Tuesday at 21,561.87.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.22 cents at 72.31 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Barrick Gold tumbled $1.53, or 6.4%, to $22.44, after the miner reported lower-than-expected preliminary gold production for the first quarter, hurt by planned maintenance at its mines.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% on a year-over-year basis in March, up from a 2.8% gain in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3% in March.
As well, housing starts totaled 242,200 in March, compared to 260,000 in the prior-year month.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange collapsed 8.96 points, or 1.6%, to 567.71.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red late Tuesday morning, with materials falling 2%, gold dulling in price 1.9%, and utilities off 1%.
The two gainers were energy, information technology, edging up 0.5%, and health-care, better by only 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 ticked lower on Tuesday, as the market weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings against concerns tied to yields and the geopolitical climate.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 81.83 points to 37,816.94, helped by UnitedHealth shares.
The S&P 500 index fell back 8.55 points to 5,053.27.
The NASDAQ sank 11.05 points to 15,873.97.
UnitedHealth rallied more than 5% on the back of better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter. That outweighed fellow Dow member Johnson & Johnson, which fell nearly 2% on the heels of mixed quarterly results.
Morgan Stanley advanced more than 3% after beating analyst consensus forecasts on both lines. Bank of America tumbled more than 4% after announcing profit and revenue fell.
America’s largest companies have given Wall Street reason for optimism in the early innings of the new corporate earnings season. Of the less than 10% of S&P 500-listed firms that have reported financials, nearly four of every five have exceeded Wall Street consensus estimates
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell, raising yields to 4.65% from Monday’s 4.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 17 cents to $85.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $13.40, to $2,396.40 U.S. an ounce.
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