Canada’s main stock index opened lower on Tuesday as financials fell on Bank of Nova Scotia’s profit miss, while First Quantum Minerals slumped after a Panama court ruled its Panama copper mine contract as unconstitutional.
The TSX Composite fell 70.45 points to open for business Tuesday at 20,032.66.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.04 cents at 73.54 cents U.S.
Kicking off big-bank earnings, Bank of Nova Scotia reported a drop in fourth-quarter profit as a murky economic climate prompted the lender to set aside bigger funds for potential loan defaults.
Scotiabank shares backed off $2.20, or 3.7%, to $58.05.
Oil and gas pipeline company TC Energy said it expects adjusted core earnings for 2024 to be 5% to 7% higher than in 2023. TC shares took on 45 cents to $50.36.
Piper Sandler downgraded e-commerce firm Shopify to “underweight” from “neutral”. Shopify shares gave back 88 cents to $99.63.
First Quantum Minerals said it hopes to avoid arbitration with Panama’s government over a major copper mine. Shares in the beleaguered miner dropped 46 cents, or 3.6%, to $12.28.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 0.26 points to 529.32.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with financials poorer 1.2%, while communications and real-estate each off 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by gold, sprinting 0.8%, while utilities took on 0.4%, and materials, inching up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell slightly Tuesday as the blistering rally seen this month appeared to lose some steam.
The Dow Jones Industrials faded 2.56 points to begin trading Tuesday at 35,330.91.
The much-broader index dipped 9.31 points to 4,541.12.
The NASDAQ sank 43.06 points to 14,197.96.
The moves follow a losing day on Wall Street. The Dow and S&P 500 both finished Monday’s session around 0.2% lower, while the NASDAQ inched down nearly 0.1%.
Traders will follow economic data on topics including housing prices and consumer confidence due Tuesday morning. On the earnings front, CrowdStrike is expected to report earnings after the bell.
Monday’s modest retreat comes near the end of November’s strong trading month, which concludes with Thursday’s close. The Dow and S&P 500 are on pace to finish the month 6.9% and 8.4% higher, respectively. The technology-heavy NASDAQ has climbed 10.8% in November.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were static, keeping yields at Monday’s 4.39%.
Oil prices gained 54 cents to $75.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $15.40 to $2,027.80.