Equities in Toronto fell on Tuesday as investors remained on the sidelines in an earnings-heavy week, while weakness in crude and copper prices dragged the commodity stocks lower.
The TSX dropped 127.1 points to move into noon hour Tuesday at 20,549.64.
The Canadian dollar sank 0.42 to 73.47 cents U.S.
Industrials plunged as Canadian National Railway fell $5.53, or 3.3%, to $162.74, reversing a gain of nearly 3% recorded in the last seven sessions. The rail operator also reported its first-quarter results after-hours on Monday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange decreased 7.03 points, or 1.2%, to 603.15.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were down midday, weighed mostly by industrials, sliding 1.5%, energy, off 1.3%, and materials, declining 1%.
The three gainers were consumer staples, advancing 0.3%, utilities, better by 0.2%, and consumer discretionary stocks, inching up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks slipped Tuesday as traders assessed the latest quarterly figures from several major companies, while awaiting reports from key tech names.
The Dow Jones Industrials forfeited 87.7 points to 33,788.64.
The S&P 500 handed over 30.21 points to 4,106.83.
The NASDAQ faltered 111.69 points to 11,925.51.
Microsoft and Alphabet are slated to report Tuesday after the bell, the first of multiple Big Tech names on the earnings schedule this week. But those stocks could struggle, according to George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris Harris, who said large-cap tech may not be a market leader the remainder of the year after its early-2023 rally.
Alphabet shares fell slightly ahead of the Google-parent’s earnings after the market closes. The company has been on an earnings cold streak, missing Wall Street estimates the last four quarters, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
Shares of First Republic Bank slid more than 27% after the regional bank posted its latest quarterly results. The bank said late Monday that deposits dropped 40% to $104.5 billion in the first quarter but have since stabilized.
First Republic will also be trimming expenses, including slashing headcount by 20% to 25% in the second quarter. The regional bank has been closely followed after investors grew concerned it could face the same fate as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, whose closures set off an industry crisis last month. First Republic shares have fallen more than 90% so far this year.
Among banks, Western Alliance Bancorp slid 3.1%, while PacWest Bancorp and Charles Schwab each shed around 2.5%.
Meanwhile, UPS dropped 9% on the back of quarterly results that missed Wall Street’s expectations. PepsiCo, on the other hand, rose more than 2% on better-than-expected numbers.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury jumped, lowering yields to 3.41% from Monday’s 3.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices plummeted $1.82 to $76.94 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $3.10 to $1,996.70 U.S. an ounce.