TSX Ends Notably Lower Ahead Of U.S.-China Trade Talks

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended notably lower on Tuesday as optimism about U.S.-China trade talks faded after the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials over abuses of Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.

Earlier, a report from South China Morning Post said China is subtly toning down expectations ahead of the high-level negotiations with U.S. officials.

Energy stocks posted sharp losses and dragged the market down. The Capped Energy Index shed as much as 3.75%.

Consumer discretionary, information technology and industrials shares too ended notably lower. Financials, consumer staples and telecommunications shares were weak as well, while materials shares ended on a bright note. A few stocks from healthcare space also closed with notable gains.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 127.80 points, or 0.78%, at 16,293.95.

On Monday, the index ended the session at 16,421.75, recording a loss of 27.60 points, or 0.17%.

Energy shares Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) declined 6.5% and 5.1%, respectively. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO), Baytex Energy (BTE.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) shed 3 to 4.1%.

The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings (TGOD.TO) shares tumbled nearly 5%. Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO), Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) also ended sharply lower.

B2Gold Corp (BTO.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) and Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO) ended stronger by 4.3%, 2.5% and 1.75%, respectively.

In economic news, a report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said the seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts in Canada fell 2.5% from a month earlier to 221,202 units in September 2019, still beating market expectations of 214,500.

Meanwhile, the value of building permits in Canada increased 6.1% from a year earlier to C$ 9.0 billion in August 2019, following an upwardly revised 3.2% gain in the previous month and above market forecasts of a 1% fall.

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower following news the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials over abuses of Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region.

Earlier, a report from the South China Morning Post said China is subtly toning down expectations ahead of this week's high-level negotiations.

The Dow declined 1.2%, the Nasdaq plunged 1.7% and the S&P 500 tumbled 1.6%.

European markets moved to the downside, while markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended down $0.12, or about 0.2%, at $52.63 a barrel.

Gold futures for December ended down $0.50, or about 0.03%, at $1,503.90 an ounce, after hitting a high of $1,514.30 around mid morning.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.160 at $17.700 an ounce, while Copper futures for December ended down $0.0085 at $2.5685 per pound.