Stocks Finish Lower Tuesday

Equities in Toronto ran out of steam Tuesday, amid uncertainty over U.S. President Trump’s timing and severity of tariffs being slapped on countries far and near.

The TSX Composite Index sagged 116.71 points to conclude Tuesday trading at 26,903.57

The Canadian dollar was down 0.08 cents

at 73.09 cents U.S.

Among individual stocks, logistics-provider Mullen Group slipped 29 cents, or 2%, to $14.15, after brokerage CIBC downgraded the company's rating.

Bombardier's shares gained $2.47, or 1.6%, to $155.57, after CIBC raised its target price.

Aura Minerals said it is preparing to list its shares on NASDAQ, in a move that could fetch the Canadian gold and copper miner a valuation of $2.14 billion. Aura shares finished the day upward 57 cents, or 1.6%, to $36.38.

Trump on Monday sent letters to 14 nations, including Japan and South Korea, threatening sharply higher tariffs on U.S. imports, while also postponing their implementation to August 1.

He added that the deadline was not 100% firm and he would consider extensions if countries made proposals. Countries have been under pressure to seal deals with the U.S. after Trump launched a global trade war in April, which rattled financial markets and prompted policymakers to protect their economies.

Canada, which recently canceled a digital service tax on U.S. technology companies to preserve trade talks with Trump, aims to reach an agreement by July 21.

Federal Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has reportedly asked all ministries to find savings, assess spending on programs, cut down on work duplication and look to reallocate funds from other programs to priority projects.

On the economic calendar, the IVEY School of Business said its index registered at 53.3 in June, down from a 48.9 reading in May, and way off the 62.5 level in June 2024.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 5.71 points, to close Tuesday at 751.91.

Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative on the day, gold fading 4.5%, materials lower by 3.6%, and information technology off 1.1%.

The five gainers were led by energy, rumbling 1.9%, while industrial and consumer discretionary stocks each forged 0.6% higher each.

ON WALLSTREET

The S&P 500 ended Tuesday’s session near the flatline after President Donald Trump offered no exceptions to his Aug. 1 tariff start date.

The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 165.6 points to 44,240.76.

The much-broader index fell short of breakeven by 4.46 points to 6,225.52.

The NASDAQ Composite edged up 5.95 points to 20,418.46.

Traders had trouble keeping up with the conflicting signals from Trump on trade. Trump on Monday pushed the tariff deadline to Aug. 1 from July 9. Later that day, he said that the new deadline was “not 100% firm.”

However, on Tuesday, the president posted on Truth Social that there would be no change or extensions granted to the Aug. 1 date. The same day, Trump also announced a steep 50% tariff on copper imports.

Overall, at least 14 countries are set to face new duties including South Africa and Kazakhstan.

However, some traders no longer forecast the latest U.S. tariffs to be as strict as initially feared, with many expecting that the worst from the trade war has now passed.

On the upside, Nvidia nudged higher, closing in on a $4-trillion market cap. But banks helped weigh down the market, after HSBC adopted a “more cautious stance” on larger banks. Shares of JPMorgan and Bank of America shed 3%, while Goldman Sachs slipped 2%.

Prices for the 10-year treasury were lower, raising yields to 4.41% from Monday’s 4.39%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices recovered 46 cents to $68.39 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices dropped $29.30 to $3,313.50 U.S. an ounce.