TORONTO - Canada's main stock index slid on a mixed day Tuesday with key sectors offsetting gains in a couple of defensive areas.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 49.20 points to 16,297.46, resuming its descent after two positive days.

“It's a very, very mixed-signals kind of day out there,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.

“There's nothing really to latch to because there's so many things that are kind of contradicting each other.”

U.S. consumer confidence hit its highest level since November, yet U.S. bond yields have risen as investors are worried about the long-term growth of the U.S. economy.

Morgan Stanley warned there is an increasing risk the economy could slide into a recession amid increased market volatility because of weak economic data and a trade war with China.

Cieszynski said he isn't convinced that a recession is currently on the horizon.

“If they go full blown trade war then all bets are off, but without that I think they can muddle along,” he said in an interview.

The U.S. trade dispute with China remains a big concern for investors with U.S. President Donald Trump saying that he's not ready to reach a deal with China but expects one in the future.

But Cieszynski said it's not uncommon for there to be a correction at this time of year.

“We've had a huge run-up in the stock market in the first few months of this year. It's not unusual to see some seasonal weakness in May and June and the news flow is kind of drying up.”

The Bank of Canada will provide some views about the health of the Canadian and global economies Wednesday as it is expected to keep its trend-setting interest rate unchanged.

“I think some people are probably suspecting that at this point they'll wait it out until after the election, which seems reasonable to me.”

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 237.92 points at 25,347.77. The S&P 500 index was down 23.67 points at 2,802.39, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.66 points at 7,607.35.

Seven of the 11 major sectors on the TSX decreased, led by real estate. Health care fell as Bausch Health Companies Inc. lost 5.7 per cent.

Energy was down despite an increase in crude oil prices. The July crude contract was up 51 cents at US$59.14 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down 2.7 cents at US$2.58 per mmBTU.

The influential financials sector was down 0.6 per cent with Home Capital Group Inc. falling four per cent, Manulife Financial Corp. down 1.9 per cent and Sun Life Financial Inc. off 1.7 per cent. Shares of various Canadian banks also decreased, including Bank of Nova Scotia after its second-quarter results missed analyst forecasts.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 74.20 cents US compared with an average of 74.39 cents US on Monday.

The June gold contract was down US$6.50 at US$1,277.10 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 0.35 of a cent at US$2.70 a pound.

The technology sector rose on gains by Celestica Inc., Shopify Inc. and Descartes Systems Group Inc.