Canada’s main stock index dipped at open on Tuesday, pressured by the materials sector, which was hit by a slide in zinc and nickel prices after demand worries escalated on Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was down 8.55 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 15,004.1.
U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said he would move ahead with additional tariffs on Chinese goods, dampening hopes of resolving the ongoing trade spat at the upcoming G20 Summit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 83.22 points, or 0.34 per cent, at the open to 24,557.02.
The S&P 500 opened lower by 9.70 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 2,663.75. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 40.63 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 7,041.23 at the opening bell
Ahead of the meeting in which the United States and China are widely expected to enter a trade deal, Trump told the Wall Street Journal he expects to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent, calling it “highly unlikely” that he would accept China’s request to hold off on the increase.
“The market remains in a fragile state and because of that anytime tariffs come into the picture you have worries,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
“Investors are looking for some positive news out of the G20, but until there is a concrete announcement on tariffs, investors will remain jittery.”
Apple Inc fell 1.3 per cent in early trading after Trump said that tariffs could also be placed on laptops and iPhones imported from China.
Other FAANG members and technology stocks, including chipmakers which have the highest revenue exposure to China among S&P 500 companies, also declined.
Applied Materials Inc. fell 0.7 per cent, Micron Technology Inc. 0.3 per cent and Nvidia Corp. 0.4 per cent.
Micron came under added pressure after brokerage UBS lowered its price target, pointing to lower selling prices of DRAM and NAND flash memory chips.
The downbeat mood comes after Wall Street started off the week on a high note, partly helped by retail stocks gaining on the hopes of a robust holiday season.
General Motors Co fell 0.9 per cent after the carmaker’s plans to close an assembly plant and a transmission plant in Ohio drew criticism from Trump.
Investors would be looking for clues on the path of future interest rate hikes with Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida addressing an event in New York on Tuesday and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell set to speak on Wednesday.
Market watchers have also been anxious to know the central bank’s view on signs of slowing economic growth in the face of rising trade tensions.