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TSX declines as miners drop with copper prices

Reuters
A man walks past an old Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) sign in Toronto, June 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

By John Tilak

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday as a selloff in copper prices sent shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd (Toronto:FM.TO - News) and Teck Resources Ltd (TCKb.TO) tumbling, while shares of gold-mining companies eased after a recent price run-up.

Oil prices, which have been hit by concerns about oversupply, were choppy, with Brent declining and U.S. crude advancing. They are down about 60 percent since June.

Copper fell further below $6,000 per tonne, to a five-year low, as oil price declines spurred selling by hedge funds in China.

“All of a sudden, the market has gotten spooked and become nervous again. Nobody seems to be able to figure out what the overall market is thinking,” said Marcus Xu, portfolio manager at M.Y. Capital Management Corp in Vancouver.

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“The market here is really moody,” he said, adding that volatility would remain at elevated levels this year.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) closed down 77.85 points, or 0.55 percent, at 14,187.16. Six of the 10 main sectors on the index were higher.

A selloff in copper weighed on mining stocks. First Quantum tumbled 14.9 percent to C$13.47, and Teck gave back 6 percent to C$14.66.

The gold-mining sector dropped 5.1 percent. Barrick Gold Corp (Toronto:ABX.TO - News) shed 6 percent to C$12.76, and Goldcorp Inc (Toronto:G.TO - News) lost 5.3 percent to C$24.31.

Shares of energy producers climbed 0.4 percent, despite the oil-price decline. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (Toronto:CNQ.TO - News) advanced 0.4 percent to C$31.94, and Suncor Energy Inc (Toronto:SU.TO - News) added 1.4 percent to C$34.81.

(Editing by Peter Galloway and Lisa Shumaker)