Equities in Toronto pointed downward on the first day of a shortened week, weighed down mostly by technology stocks.
The TSX Composite retreated 38.08 points to close Tuesday at 21,217.53.
The Canadian dollar ditched 0.13 cents to 73.94 cents U.S.
Markets were closed Monday for Family Day.
Techs weighed the most, with Alithya giving up 15 cents, or 7.8%, to $1.77, while HUT 8 dropped 94 cents, or 6.9%, to $12.67.
In health-care issues, Tilray weakened 11 cents, or 4.3%, to $2.44, while Chartwell Retirement Residences units faltered 11 cents to $12.18.
Industrials also took some blows, with ATS Corporation tumbling $1.59, or 3%, to $51.42, while Ballard Power Systems let go of 17 cents, or 3.9%, to $4.20.
Consumer staples tried to lend some strength to the markets, with Jamieson Wellness muscling up $1.25, or 4.2%, to $31.28, while Alimentation Couche-Tard jumped $3.01, or 3.7%, to $85.01.
Communications also marched ahead, with TELUS up 23 cents, or 1%, to $24.17, while BCE scored higher by 42 cents to $51.25.
Gold also made gains, with Seabridge Gold adding 51 cents, or 3.4%, to $15.62, while Eldorado Gold leaped 48 cents, or 3.3%, to $15.25.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada says January’s consumer price index hiked 2.9% on a year-over-year basis in January, down from a 3.4% gain in December. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.1% in January.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 5.14 points Tuesday to 551.62.
Seven of the 12 subgroups lost strength, with information technology losing 1.7%, health-care stocks, trailing 0.9%, and industrial stocks, off 0.8%.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, which hiked 1.1%, while communications and gold each added 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell Tuesday as Nvidia led a broader tech decline ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 64.19 points to 38,563.80.
The S&P 500 capsized 30.06 points to 4,975.51.
The NASDAQ index dived 144.87 points to 15,630.78.
Shares of Nvidia, which is set to report earnings Wednesday after the bell, fell nearly 5%. Although Nvidia is expected to post impressive results, investors have expressed concerns about its sky-high valuation. Amazon shares declined 1.7%, while shares of Microsoft and Meta each lost about 0.9%.
So far this year, the technology sector has added 5.2%, making it the third-highest gainer in the broader market, losing to communication services and health care. Nvidia has continued its blockbuster stretch of gains, adding more than 37% so far this year, while its ‘Magnificent 7’ peers have gained Meta and Amazon have gained roughly 32% and 9%, respectively.
Financial stocks were also in view Tuesday following a blockbuster announcement that Capital One Financial agreed to purchase Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal worth $35.3 billion, which is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025. Capital One added less than 1% following the announcement, while Discover jumped more than 12.5%.
In separate deal news, Walmart announced it will acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 a share, leading shares of Vizio to climb higher by about 16%. Walmart shares added more than 3.5% after the big-box retailer also beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, fueled by double-digit growth in the company’s global e-commerce sales.
The moves follow a losing week on Wall Street after economic data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve may not begin cutting interest rates as soon, or by as much, as market participants expected this year.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury regained lost strength, dropping yields to 4.27% from Friday’s 4.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices stumbled 92 cents to $78.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $11.80 to $2,035.90.