TSX Remains Deep Down In Red Despite Coming Off Early Lows

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares crashed Tuesday morning, like markets across the globe, as escalating tensions in the Middle East continue to force investors away from riskier assets.

With no signs of a ceasefire in sight, and no big positive news from the domestic or global front, the mood in the market is extremely bearish.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the war may last four to five weeks but could "go far longer than that," raising concerns a prolonged conflict could lead to a substantial spike in inflation.

Materials stocks are plunging sharply, weighed down by falling metal prices. Consumer discretionary, technology, industrials, financials and healthcare stocks too are reeling under severe selling pressure. Energy stocks are finding some support with oil prices moving again amid supply concerns.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which tumbled to 33,136.51 earlier in the session, losing more than 4% in the process, was down 933.60 points or 2.7% at 33,607.60 a little while ago.

The Materials Capped Index is down nearly 8%. Capstone Mining, New Gold, Aya Gold & Silver, First Majestic Silver, Novagold Resources, Silvercorp Metals, Ssr Mining, Eldorado Gold, Wheaton Precious Metals, Pan American Silver Corp., Kinross Gold, Barrick Mining Corp., and B2Gold are down 9%-12.5%.

Technology stocks Celestica, Shopify, Lightspeed Commerce, BlackBerry and Tecsys are down 1.6%-5%.

Among financials, Bank of Nova Scotia, Manulife Financial, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, Sun Life Financial and Bank of Montreal are down 2%-3.4%.

Consumer discretionary stock Pet Valu Holdings is down more than 15%. Dollarama, Brp Inc., Aritzia, Magna International and Linamar Corp are down 3%-4%.

Premium Brands Holdings Corp., Maple Leaf Foods, Alimentation Couche-Tard, George Weston and Metro Inc. are among the major losers in the consumer staples space.

Energy stocks Paramount Resources and Advantage Oil & Gas are gaining 6% and 4.5%, respectively. Strathcona Resources, Tourmaline Oil Corp., International Petroleum Corp., and Arc Resources are up 2%-3%.