TSX Flat Midday
Stocks in Canada’s largest centre fought to stay above water as the clock approached noon EDT on Tuesday as investors awaited potential trade deals between the U.S. and its partners.
The TSX Composite Index had gained 12.61 points to move into Tuesday afternoon trading at 27,329.61.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.27 cents at 73.38 cents U.S.
Trade negotiations appeared shaky after EU diplomats said the 27-nation bloc was considering broader counter-measures against Washington.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada said in a survey Canadian businesses see less chance of a worst-case tariff scenario but remain cautious, while keeping hiring and investment in check.
In corporate news, Alimentation Couche-Tard said on Monday it was resuming its share repurchase program days after the Circle K-parent scrapped a $46-billion attempt to buy Japan's Seven & I. Couche-Tard shares nosed up 10 cents to $76.77.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange reversed 1.65 points to 801.15.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with gold brighter by 1.9%, while materials strengthened 1.8%, and telecoms added 0.8%.
The three laggards were information technology, down 1.6%, health-care, backpedaling 0.5%, and industrials, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite fell on Tuesday, a day after both indexes hit fresh records, as traders weighed the latest earnings reports and new trade developments.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked higher 13.73 points to 44,336.80.
The much-broader index gave back 8.86 points to 6,296.74.
The NASDAQ stepped back 94.29 points to 20,879.89.
The market was bogged down by a decline in chip stocks, with Broadcom more than 2% lower and artificial intelligence darling Nvidia shedding almost 2%, after The Wall Street Journal reported that SoftBank and OpenAI’s $500-billion AI project has faced difficulties in getting underway, scaling down its near-term plans.
Adding to downbeat sentiment in the sector, NXP Semiconductors pulled back more than 1% after the company’s latest quarterly results and guidance disappointed investors.
Meanwhile, shares of aerospace and defense name Lockheed Martin were down 8% after the company’s revenue for the second quarter missed analyst estimates.
Similarly, Philip Morris lost 8% after the tobacco company’s second-quarter revenue also fell short.
This comes as 88 S&P 500 companies have reported, with more than 82% of those topping analysts’ estimates, according to FactSet data.
Eyes are on commentary from companies about macroeconomic certainty, the impact of tariffs and details on demand and spending related to AI.
Prices for the 10-year treasury climbed, lowering yields to 4.34% from Monday’s 4.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were lower 84 cents to $66.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $33.00 to $3,439.40 U.S. an ounce.
