Stocks Join in Mass Decline

Equities in Canada joined their American brethren on downhill slide Tuesday, with resource stocks providing the anchor, as suspense continued over where the ceasefire in the Iran conflict would pass without a deal between Iran and the U.S.The TSX Composite Index withered 551.73 points, or 1.6%, to close Tuesday at 33,808.30. The Canadian dollar docked 0.14 cents at 73.15 cents U.S. The U.S. voiced confidence that peace talks with Iran would be held in Pakistan, and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining, but significant hurdles remained as a ceasefire deadline approached at the end of the ?day.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he did not want to extend a rapidly expiring ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and that the U.S. military was "raring to go" if negotiations were not successful.Miners including NovaGold Resources and Equinox Gold were among ?the top losers, NovaGold giving up $1.92, or 13.1%, to $12.77, while Equinox flopped $1.64, or 7.8%, to $19.41. Elsewhere, G Mining Ventures tanked $6.41, or 11.5%, to $49.59, while Orla Mining ditched $2.33, or 10.6%, to $19.73. In health-care, Chartwell Retirement Residences backtracked 60 cents, or 2.9%, to $20.40, while Bausch Health Companies descended 25 cents, or 3.1%, to $7.83. Energy tried to balance things out, with Cenovus Energy ahead $1.11, or 3.3%, to $35.15, while Vermilion Energy poked ahead 49 cents, or 3.1%, to $16.45. Consumer staples were also positive, as Empire Company gained 48 cents, or 1%, to $47.91, while George Weston prospered 84 cents to $97.21. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 41.97 points, or 3.9%, to 1,022.61. All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, weighed most by gold, dulling 5.1%, materials, off 4.7%, and health-care, down 1.4%. Energy on the other hand, collected 1.8%, while consumer staples advanced 0.7%. ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 dropped on Tuesday as investors grew concerned that a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran would not be struck ahead of a ceasefire that’s set to expire Wednesday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average toppled 292.96 points to 49,149.60.The much-broader index dropped 45.12 points to 7,064.02.The NASDAQ dwindled 144.43 points to 24,259.96.Nervousness about the prospect of a U.S.-Iran peace deal was heightened on Wall Street after Vice President JD Vance’s trip to join Iran negotiations was paused because of a lack of commitment from Tehran. That’s according to reports from The New York Times and Axios, which cited U.S. officials with knowledge of the situation.Oil prices reversed course from a big decline in recent days in anticipation of a deal. West Texas Intermediate futures increased 2.81% to settle at $92.13 per barrel. Brent futures advanced 3.14% to close at $98.48 a barrel.On Tuesday, UnitedHealth’s first-quarter results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, which sent shares of the health insurance giant more than 8% higher. The company also hiked its earnings outlook.Meanwhile, Amazon shares climbed more than 1% on the heels of the company agreeing to invest up to $25 billion in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved lower, raising yields to 4.31% from Monday’s 4.26%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices gained $4.38 to $91.80 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices slumbered $130.80 to $4,698 U.S. an ounce.