TSX Flat at Finish

Stocks in Toronto finished a rollercoaster day in positive territory, if only slightly, gains being limited by the pounding major Canadian banks took at the hands of ratings agencies.

The TSX squeezed into the green 0.58 points to close the day at 20,585.73.

The Canadian dollar backed off 0.04 cents to 74.73 cents U.S.

Energy stocks flourished, with Tourmaline Oil marching ahead $1.85, or 3.2%, to $59.58, while Topaz Energy acquired 56 cents, or 2.9%, to $20.12.

One of the industrial mainstays of the nation, SNC Lavalin, hiked $3.90, or 12.2%, to $35.88, while Finning International spiked $1.70, while 5%, to $35.82.

In utilities, Transalta grabbed 25 cents, or 1.9%, to $13.32, while Northland Power gained 40 cents, or 1.3%, to $72.52.

Heavyweight financial index lost ground after Barclays downgraded three major Canadian banks.

Laurentian Bank dropped 71 cents, or 2.5%, to $31.32, while shares in Scotiabank decreased $1.34, or 2%, to $65.94.

In health-care stocks, Canopy Growth gave up nine cents, or 5.1%, to $1.69, while Bausch Health Companies shed 11 cents, or 1.4%, to $7.89.

Real-estate stocks were also on the downside, Altus Group dumped $1.10, or 2.6%, to $41.60, while Northwest Health-Care Properties REIT dipped 18 cents, or 2.2%, to $7.84.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.23 points, to conclude trading Tuesday at 620.22.

Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups had gained ground by the close, with energy up 0.6%, industrials ahead 0.5%, and utilities better by 0.4%.

The five losing subgroups were co-led by health-care and financials, both off 0.6%, and real-estate trailing 0.5%.

ON WALLSTREET

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Stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors readied for key inflation reports due later in the week and progress on the U.S. debt limit.

The Dow Jones Industrials descended 56.88 points to finish the session at 33,561.81.

The S&P 500 index shed 18.95 points to 4,119.17.

The NASDAQ Composite sank 77.36 points to 12,179.55.

PacWest shares closed up 2.4%, after a volatile session.

Lucid, PayPal and Skyworks closed down after their quarterly reports were released. Meanwhile, Palantir jumped 23% on a strong earnings report and upbeat guidance.

President Joe Biden is hosting a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Tuesday afternoon. Both sides have cautioned that the meeting is simply a chance to have a conversation, with definitive progress on raising the debt limit unlikely. Biden and McCarthy remain at odds over the House Speaker’s demand that a deal on raising the debt ceiling be tied to spending cuts. Biden maintains raising the debt ceiling is non-negotiable.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday afternoon that failing to raise the debt ceiling would be an “economic catastrophe,” and regulators are not close to any policies that would limit short-selling regional bank stocks.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury settled slightly back, raising yields to 3.53% from Monday’s 3.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices gained 34 cents to $73.80 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices hiked $8.60 to $2,041.80 U.S. an ounce.