Canada’s main stock index gave up early gains to close lower Tuesday, while U.S. stocks were mixed and the loonie remained flat.
The Toronto Stock Exchange ended lower despite strong gains in commodities, which showed strength after copper rose from a price floor, said Dominique Barker, Portfolio Manager, CIBC Asset Management.
“One thing that has been consistent all day has been commodities, so we’ve had commodity prices up off the bottom, particularly copper.”
The September copper contract closed up US6¢ at US$2.81 a pound. Efforts by the Chinese government to spur economic activity is probably a key contributor to the rise, said Barker.
“I think that’s driven by some news out of China yesterday with their announcement to reduce taxes and increase infrastructure spending. So we’re seeing a read-through on to the energy stocks, equities in Canada, as well as copper stocks in Canada.”
The S&P/TSX global base metals index was up 3.62% as big copper names like Souther Copper, Lundin Mining, First Quantum Minerals all saw substantial gains.
Overall, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 30.71 points at 16,390.13 as losses in health, industrials and consumer staples weighed on the market.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 197.65 points at 25,241.94. The S&P 500 index closed up 13.42 points at 2,820.40 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 1.11 points at 7,840.77.
Gains in some U.S. markets came as many big-name companies showed strong earnings, said Barker.
“Some of the reports that came out today were very supportive of a strong economy. There were beats and raises by Eli Lilly, Lockheed Martin, 3M, Google and Verizon. All announced earnings that beat expectations.”
The Canadian dollar averaged US76.01¢, unchanged from Monday.
The September crude contract closed up US63¢ at US$68.52 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was up US2¢ at US$2.72 per mmBTU. The August gold contract ended down US10¢ at US$1,225.50 an ounce.
Canadian National Railway Co. announced after market close that it had increased its earnings outlook and capital program for the year, following a quarter that saw its net income increase 27% in the last quarter compared with last year.
The railway closed down 61¢ or 0.54% at $112 after the company said earlier in the day that it had made interim CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest its permanent chief executive.