Toronto stocks closed modestly lower on Tuesday, with sector declines in Materials, Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology offsetting sharp gains in several individual issues. At the close in Toronto the S&P/TSX Composite was down 0.21%.
Market movers
At the top of the leaderboard, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (TSX:ATD) jumped 11.68% - an advance of 9.61 points - to finish at 91.87, moving to an all-time high during the session. Open Text Corp (TSX:OTEX) climbed 6.10%, adding 1.73 points to close at 30.07. Thomson Reuters Corp (TSX:TRI) also recorded a strong gain, rising 5.84% or 6.34 points to end the day at 114.84.
On the downside, G Mining Ventures Corp (TSX:GMIN) posted the steepest decline among major laggards, slipping 9.62% or 4.07 points to close at 38.23. HudBay Minerals Inc (TSX:HBM) fell 8.81%, losing 3.48 points to end at 36.04. Ero Copper Corp (TSX:ERO) dropped 8.54% or 3.68 points to finish at 39.40.
Breadth and volatility
On the Toronto Stock Exchange, decliners outnumbered advancers by 543 to 412, while 81 issues finished unchanged. The S&P/TSX 60 VIX - which measures implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options - rose 2.69% to 15.29, signaling an uptick in expected near-term volatility.
Commodities and currencies
Commodity prices were mixed to lower on the day. Gold futures for August delivery slid 1.76% - a decrease of 74.15 - to $4,128.55 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for August delivery fell 0.73% or 0.54 to $73.32 a barrel, while the September Brent contract declined 0.88% or 0.68 to trade at $76.84 a barrel.
In currency markets, CAD/USD was unchanged at a 0.36% move to 0.70, and CAD/EUR was essentially flat with an unchanged 0.06% move to 0.62. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher, up 0.37% at 101.17.
What this means for market participants
The session highlighted divergence between a small number of large-cap winners and broader sector weakness. Materials, Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology exerted downward pressure on the index overall, even as select names such as Alimentation Couche-Tard reached fresh highs. The increase in the VIX points to a modest rise in option-implied uncertainty for the largest constituents of the S&TSX.
Additional market detail
- Falling stocks: 543
- Advancing stocks: 412
- Unchanged: 81
Notable single-stock moves were the day's most significant contributors to dispersion among individual returns, while commodity price declines and a firmer U.S. dollar coincided with the modest downward pressure on the TSX.