The S&P/TSX Composite Index kicked off the shortened trading week in negative territory as the energy subgroup weighed down the market.
The index closed 187.59 points lower, or 0.95 per cent, at 19,505.33 on Tuesday.
West Texas Intermediate fluctuated between gains and losses ahead of an OPEC+ meeting Wednesday. Investors are placing their bets on whether the cartel and its allies will opt to increase oil production in response to a call from U.S. President Joe Biden to boost global crude supplies.
Ultimately, WTI settled US$0.53 higher at US$94.42 per barrel.
It was also a choppy trading session for markets in New York. The S&P 500 lost 0.67 per cent, the Dow dropped 1.23 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 0.16 per cent.
“It’s been our call now for about a month or so, maybe six weeks, that the market was in the process of bottoming. And bottoms rarely happen when everyone expects them,” Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO, said in an interview Tuesday.
Belski is calling for the TSX to end the year at 24,000 points and for the S&P 500 to end at 4,800 points.
“Still very outlying (with our year-end forecasts) with respect to the majority of Wall Street and Bay Street strategists. And economists are very bearish. So I'd much rather be bullish and be different and have the positive angles of good earnings, employment still being strong and, really what I like to call, ‘fortress America’ and ‘consistency Canada’ to continue to carry through equity prices,” he said.
Shares in Toronto-Dominion Bank closed down 0.41 per cent to $82.84 after the company announced an all-cash US$1.3-billion takeover of Cowen Inc. to expand its footprint in the American investment banking sector.
Paul Harris, partner and portfolio manager at Harris Douglas Asset Management, said TD has built a strong presence in the U.S. retail and commercial banking sector, but has lagged on the investment banking front south of the border.
“[TD Bank] has never had an investment bank that was strong there. So I think this helps them with that,” Harris said in an interview Tuesday.
Shares of Air Canada gained 0.81 per cent Tuesday to close at $17.53 after the company reported second-quarter revenue nearly quintupled to $3.98 billion, though its financial results were below Bay Street estimates.
Helane Becker, managing director of airlines and air-related industries at Cowen Inc., said Air Canada is facing many challenges that are out of its control.
“It's the issues associated with all their providers including air traffic control situations, the lines in Toronto [Pearson International Airport], not having enough airport personnel, not having enough catering personnel,” Becker said in an interview Tuesday.
“So it's not only their issue, but it's obviously the issue of all the infrastructure that goes into running an airline that's problematic.”
She said she believes travel demand will remain high and expects costs will come down as airport delays are resolved.
“We're pretty bullish on the industry and on the Canadian airlines, Air Canada specifically, given it's the only one I cover,” she added.
The Canadian dollar fell about four-tenths of a cent to 77.70 cents U.S.
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