TSX Points Downward After 8-Session Win Streak

The eight-session positive string for equities in Canada’s largest centre could be in danger Tuesday, as markets skidded just before noon hour, with health-care and energy weighing indexes down.

The TSX slid 29.31 points, to pause for lunch Tuesday at 20,248.97.

The Canadian dollar brushed off 0.10 cents to 74.32 cents U.S.

Among stocks, Thomson Reuters rose $1.22 to $177.03, after the Reuters News parent said it would return $2.2 billion to shareholders through a cash distribution and a reverse stock split after selling some of its shares in the London Stock Exchange Group.

TD Bank Group fell 86 cents, or 1%, to $81.82, after some small shareholders told Reuters that the lender should abandon or renegotiate its $13.4 billion acquisition of First Horizon as the regional banking crisis has unearthed unknown risks.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported building permits in Canada advanced 8.6% to $10.7 billion in February.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.66 points to 629.49.

Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher, with gold jumping 2.8%, materials up 1.1%, and consumer staples better by 0.9%.

The five laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 1.8%, while energy and real-estate stocks each lost 1.2%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks dipped Tuesday as traders assessed a spike in oil prices and what that could mean for the global economy.

The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 209.81 points to 33,391.34.

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The S&P 500 headed for its first decline in five days after a reading of job openings dropped below 10 million for the first time in nearly two years, a sign the once hot labor market supporting the economy is starting to slow. The S&P 500 dipped 22.68 points to 4,101.83.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped 47.39 points to 12,141.48.

Available positions fell to 9.93 million for the month, down more than 600,000 from January and well below the FactSet estimate of 10.4 million, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday.

The common stock of theater chain AMC dropped $1.13, or 22.1%, to $3.98 after the company announced a settlement deal with a group of shareholders that could pave the way for further capital raises.

Under the terms of the deal, the company would get to increase its number of authorized shares, there would a 10-to-one reverse stock split, and the preferred APE shares would get converted into common stock. In exchange, the suing group of shareholders would receive additional common stock. The shareholders’ attorneys said in a statement the shares would be valued at more than $100 million at recent market prices.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 3.35% from Monday 3.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite
directions.

Oil prices demurred 25 cents to $80.17 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices tacked on $38.20 to $2,041.60 U.S. an ounce.