In the wake of a record high gold price and market anticipation of this week's interest rate announcement from the Bank of Canada, the technology sector saw losses while resource shares saw gains, causing Tuesday's main index to close lower.
The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) of the Toronto Stock Exchange closed the day down 5.14 points, at 21,525.93. After reaching a level not seen in over two years on Friday, the index experienced a second consecutive day of small losses.
Nasdaq, which is rich in technology, was hit hard by the weakness of megacap growth stocks, causing Wall Street's biggest index to suffer larger falls.
Shopify (SHOP.TO), an e-commerce platform, hit a two-month low, contributing to a 2.8% decline in the technology sector of the Toronto market.
It is widely anticipated that the Bank of Canada will maintain its benchmark interest rate at a 22-year high on Wednesday. This week, investors were also anticipating U.S. employment statistics and congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The markets would be taken aback if the Bank of Canada decided to decrease rates instead of holding them steady, according to Macan Nia, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management.
"Central banks are going to be very methodical in terms of cutting interest rates, especially when inflation is still above their targets."
With gold reaching a new all-time high of $2,141.59 per ounce, the materials sector—which include fertilizer businesses, precious metals miners, and base metals miners—saw a 0.3% increase.
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