TSX Pares Some Early Losses; Technology, Industrials Stocks Remain Weak

(RTTNews) - After a weak start and a subsequent drop to lower levels, the Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered some lost ground Tuesday morning, but was still down in the red a little past noon as several stocks from technology, industrials and real estate sectors continued to reel under selling pressure.

Worries about escalating geopolitical tensions and U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of more tariffs on European countries rendered the mood bearish in global markets.

The U.S. President threatened on Monday that his administration will impose 10% tariffs on several European countries from February 1 if the U.S. is not allowed to buy Greenland, and added that the levies could rise to 25% from June.

Today, Trump has threatened that he will slap 200% tariffs on French wines and champagnes as French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly said he will not join Trump's Board of Peace initiative.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 32,851.29 earlier in the session, was down 129.07 points or 0.39% at 32,961.89 a few minutes past noon.

The Information Technology Capped Index slid 2.2%. Dye & Durham, down 10.1%, was the biggest loser in the sector. Kinaxis, Shopify, CGI Group and Constellation Software lost 3 to 4%.

Coveo Solutions, Descartes Systems Group, Bitfarms, Lightspeed Commerce, Enghouse Systems and Open Text Corporation also shed notable ground.

Ats Corporation, down 6.8%, was the biggest loser in the Industrials index. Cargojet, Cae Inc., Nfi Group, Bombardier and Tfi International lost 2 to 3%. Air Canada, WSP Global, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas, Finning International and Waste Connections also declined sharply.

Real estate stocks Granite Real Estate Investment Trust, FirstService Corp., Altus Group, Colliers International, Riocan Real Estate, CDN Apartment and Northwest Healthcare Properties lost 1 to 2.5%.

Healthcare stocks Curaleaf Holdings and Bausch Health Companies drifted down 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively.

Riding on strong metal prices, materials stocks moved higher. Orla Mining soared 10.5%, while Aya Gold & Silver, Centerra Gold, G Mining Ventures, Vizsla Silver Corp., Aris Gold Corporation, Iamgold Corp., and Endeavour Silver Corp moved up 4 to 8.5%. Pan American Silver Corp., Ero Copper, Osisko Gold Royalties, Alamos Gold, Hudbay Minerals, Skeena Resources and several other stocks from the materials sector posted impressive gains.