TORONTO: Canada's main stock index edged lower on Tuesday as chances of a NAFTA deal this week faded and shares of gold miners dropped with prices of the precious metal hitting their lowest this year.
At 10:05 a.m. ET (1405 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index fell 11.74 points, or 0.07 percent, to 16,073.87.
Mexico's economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Tuesday that he does not expect to meet a deadline this Thursday to reach a new North American Free Trade Agreement that could be presented to the current US Congress.
The materials sector dropped 0.86 percent, weighed down by a 1.9 percent drop in Barrick Gold and a 2.4 percent decline in Goldcorp.
Gold slid more than 1 percent, falling for a third day, as a rise in US borrowing costs pushed up the dollar and overshadowed the impact of strife in Gaza.
Shares of Element Fleet Management jumped 15 percent after the vehicle fleet manager posted its first-quarter results. The shares were the most heavily traded on the TSX.
Resales of Canadian homes fell 2.9 percent in April from March to the lowest level in more than five years, the Canadian Real Estate Association said.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the TSX by 144 to 96, for a 1.50-to-1 ratio on the downside.
The TSX posted six new 52-week highs and seven new lows. Across all Canadian issues, there were 17 new 52-week highs and 51 new lows.
Volume on the TSX index was 40.74 million shares. Total volume on Tuesday was 63.84 million shares.
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