Falling energy prices tugged Canada’s main stock index downward on Tuesday as producers responded to developments in the Middle East and China.
The S&P/TSX composite index dipped by 32.09 points to 24,439.08.
The 4.8 per cent loss for Canadian energy stocks arrived in lockstep with oil price declines of roughly four per cent on Tuesday. The November West Texas intermediate crude contract dropped US$3.25 to US$70.58 per barrel and the November natural gas contract nudged up less than a penny to US$2.50 per mmBTU.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, has fallen back below US$75 from more than US$80 last week.
“That’s resulted in a fairly significant amount of volatility, obviously, in the Canadian space, just given the weight of energy stocks here,” said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc.
Crude has weakened as China’s flagging economic growth raises concerns about…
