TSX slides as mining, energy stocks fall on weaker commodities

Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, dragged down by shares in mining and energy companies as bullion and crude oil prices weakened.

At 9:39 a.m. ET (1339 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 80.35 points, or 0.43%, at 18,638.87.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 2.1% as gold futures hit a three-week low of $1,683.9 an ounce.

The energy sector dropped 0.3% as oil prices fell after the Suez Canal reopened to traffic, while focus turned to OPEC+ possibly agreeing to output cuts this week.

Miners B2Gold Corp and Pretium Resources Inc fell 5.6% and 4.9%, respectively, and were the biggest decliners on the TSX.

The financials sector gained 0.2%. The industrials sector fell 0.1%.

On the TSX, 70 issues were higher, while 152 issues declined for a 2.17-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 16.76 million shares traded.

The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Exchange Income Corp, which jumped 2.9%, and pot producer Aphria Inc, which rose 1.8%.

The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bank of Nova Scotia, Power Corporation of Canada, and TC Energy Corp..

The TSX posted three new 52-week highs and no new lows.

Across all Canadian issues there were 22 new 52-week highs and four new lows, with a total volume of 31.53 million shares.