Tuesday proved a downward day on Canada’s largest stock market, as fresh COVID-19 lockdown measures on bars and restaurants dampened recovery hopes. Moreover, energy stocks fell on lower oil prices as rising coronavirus infections caused demand worries.
The TSX clunked home 31.29 points Tuesday to 16,211.52, though off its lows of the day.
The Canadian dollar faltered 0.18 cents to 74.68 cents U.S.
Energy stocks proved the biggest weight on the market, with Crescent Point Energy stumbling 11 cents, or 6.4%, to $1.60, while Vermilion Energy lost 20 cents, or 5.9%, to $3.20.
Financial stocks also took some bruising, with Home Capital Group slumbering 79 cents, or 3.6%, to $21.36, while IGM Financial shed $1.50, or 3.1%, to $46.48.
Real-estate also took its lumps, with First Capital REIT units fading 40 cents, or 3%, to $12.82, and Artis REIT down 23 cents, or 2.8%, to $8.01.
Tech stocks tried to balance things out, with Shopify towering over Monday’s close by $77.26, or 6%, to $1,368.00, while Kinaxis popped $11.53, or 6.2%, to $196.60.
Among gold stocks, OceanaGold added seven cents, or 3.2%, to $2.26, while Wesdome Gold took on 38 cents, or 3.1%, to $12.81.
Materials improved, too, with MAG Silver triumphing $1.82, or 8.9%, to $22.17, while Cascades jumped 85 cents, or 5.5%, to $16.35.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada says its industrial product price index increased 0.3% in August, led by higher prices for primary non-ferrous metal products.
The agency’s raw materials price index rose 3.2%, principally due to higher prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.71 points Tuesday to 712.54.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split, as energy dropped 4.3%, financials skidded 1.3%, and real-estate stocks slumped 0.8%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by information technology, up 2.1%, while gold brightened 1.8%, and materials solidified 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell for the first time in four days on Tuesday amid concerns over a possible resurgence in coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shrank 131.4 points to close Tuesday at 27,452.66.
The S&P 500 subtracted 16.13 points to 3,335.47.
The NASDAQ faded 32.28 points to 11,085.25.
The major averages snapped a three-day winning streak.
Shares of airline companies led the declines. JetBlue dropped 4.4% and American Airlines slid 4%. United dipped nearly 4% and Southwest closed lower by 1.7%.
The major averages fell to their lows of the day after Bloomberg News reported the daily positive rate of coronavirus cases is back above 3% for the first time in months.
In economic news Tuesday, the Conference Board said consumer confidence jumped much more than expected, hitting a print of 101.8 for September. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected consumer confidence to rise to 90.1 from 86.3 in August.
Political news is poised to potentially be a driver of market news this week, with the first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden set for Tuesday night.
Some Wall Street analysts believe the first debate of this cycle could be more consequential for the markets than most debates, with a clear victory by one candidate possibly creating significant market moves.
The climb for stocks on Monday came after mixed news about the coronavirus response over the weekend. On the bullish side for the market, Florida lifted capacity restrictions on restaurants over the weekend and Pelosi said she believed another relief bill was still on the table.
However, cases in the U.S. continued to rise once again, with Dr. Anthony Fauci saying on Monday that the U.S. is "not in a good place" as colder weather approaches.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday night that the Democrats were unveiling a new $2.2-trillion stimulus package, smaller than the more than $3 trillion proposed earlier in the crisis but still well above what Republican leaders have offered.
The new bill would include enhanced unemployment benefits and aid to airlines and state and local governments.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were higher, lowering yields to 0.65% from Monday’s 0.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.59 to $39.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $20.20 to $1,902.50 U.S. an ounce.
