Stocks in Canada’s largest market open Tuesday lower after a long weekend, tracking weak commodity prices, while cautious investors awaited earnings reports from the country’s top lenders and producer inflation data.
The TSX sagged 48.31 points to begin a short week at 20,302.75.
The Canadian dollar slid 0.07 cents to 73.98 cents U.S.
Canadian markets were shuttered Monday for Victoria Day.
Scotiabank raised its rating on Meg Energy to sector outperform from sector perform. Meg shares gained 60 cents, or 2.9%, to $21.15.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada says the industrial product price index for April fell 0.2%, and was 3.5% lower than April 2022. The Raw Materials Price Index rose 2.9% on a monthly basis in April and fell 10.8% year over year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.33 points to 616.12.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with health-care steaming ahead 2.7%, while energy rumbled 1.2% higher, and real-estate surging 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by materials, down 1.8%, industrials, sliding 1.7%, and gold, off 1.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Tuesday on the heels of a key debt ceiling meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that failed to produce a resolution.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 29.09 points to start Tuesday at 33,257.49.
The S&P 500 handed back 13.11 points to 4,179.52.
The NASDAQ backpedaled 26.21 points to 12,694.57.
McCarthy and Biden met at the White House Monday evening, in a discussion that the House speaker described as “productive” and “professional.” The latest hourlong talk – occurring just days before the earliest date that the U.S. could default on its debt – concluded without a resolution but seemed to echo a more positive tone.
Elsewhere, Apple moved slightly lower after announcing a multibillion-dollar chip production deal with Broadcom. The chip stock gained 1%. Chevron added about 3% on an upgrade from HSBC.
Stocks are coming off a mixed session that saw the Dow lose about 0.4% AND S&P 500 finished little changed. The NASDAQ rose 0.5% to touch its highest intraday level and highest close since August.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury skidded a bit, raising yields to 3.72% from Monday’s 3.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $1.19 to $73.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices removed $2.50 to $1,974.70 U.S. an ounce.