Bay Street Likely To Open On Weak Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open lower Tuesday morning, tracking weak crude oil and metal prices. Despite the U.S. agreeing to hold off imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month, the mood is likely to remain cautious.

The Canadian market suffered a severe setback in early trades on Monday following a big sell-off as U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 25% import tariff on all Canadian goods except energy products.

However, Stocks recovered from early lows after Trump decided to pause tariffs on Mexico for a month after Mexican President held talks with him. Still, the Canadian benchmark ended the day's session on a weak note

After US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on almost everything imported from Canada, outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would respond in kind and impose 25% tariffs on more than $105 billion of U.S. goods.

The U.S. President has warned that the EU and the UK could be the next targets for the levy. The imposition on Mexico has now been postponed by a month following Trump's talks with the Mexican President. The EU also warned of firm retaliation if targeted.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which plunged nearly 800 points to 24,742.92 in early trades, ended the day's session with a loss of 291.34 points or 1.14% at 25,241.76.

Asian stocks gave up some early gains but still ended higher on Tuesday as China slapped tariffs on U.S. imports in a rapid response to a 10% trade duty imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese goods, which took effect from 00:00 ET today.

China's Finance Ministry said it will impose a 15% duty on imports of coal and liquified natural gas from the U.S. Also, there will be 10% additional duty on imports of crude oil, agricultural equipment and automobiles from the U.S. from February 10.

China's Commerce Ministry imposed export controls on tungsten, tellurium, molybdenum, bismuth, and indium to protect national security interests. China is a top producer of rare earths and exotic materials.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance in cautious trade amid lingering concerns about global economic growth due to imposition of fresh tariffs by the U.S. on imports from a few major trading partners.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $1.60 or 2.19% at $71.56 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $9.10 or 0.31% at $2,848.00 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.161 or 0.49% at $32.365 an ounce.