Latest US and Canadian News updateLatest Canadian NEWS: CANADA STOCKS-TSX drops as energy sector slumps after oil price crash
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April 21 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, dragged down by a sell-off in the heavyweight energy sector after U.S. oil futures sank into negative territory.
* * At 9:49 a.m. ET (1349 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 139.3 points, or 0.97%, at 14,248.98.
* The energy sector dropped 2.2%, extending losses into a second straight session.
* Benchmark Brent and U.S. oil futures for June delivery plunged to around two-decade lows on Tuesday, a day after U.S. May futures sank into negative territory for the first time in history as demand tumbled due to the coronavirus crisis.
* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 2.1% due to lower gold and base metal prices as investors made a dash for the U.S. dollar.
* On the TSX, 11 issues were higher, while 219 issues declined for a 19.91-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 25.30 million shares traded.
* Oil and gas explorer Seven Generation fell 7%, the most on the TSX, while the second-biggest decliner was Linamar Corp, down 4.5%.
* The best performer on the TSX was ecommerce firm Shopify Inc, which extended gains into a third straight session as coronavirus-driven lockdowns boost online traffic.
* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Royal Bank of Canada and Bombardier.
* The TSX posted 2 new 52-week highs and no new lows.
* Across all Canadian issues there were 9 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows, with total volume of 48.35 million shares. (Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Aditya Soni)
Latest US NEWS US STOCKS-Wall St falls as U.S. crude collapse worsens pandemic woes
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* Coca-Cola sees big hit from low demand for sodas
* Travelers misses on profit as catastrophe claims jump
* All 11 major S&P 500 sectors trading lower
* Indexes down: Dow 2.78%, S&P 500 3.20%, Nasdaq 3.85% (Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By C Nivedita and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street retreated for a second straight day on Tuesday as a collapse in U.S. crude prices and glum annual forecasts by companies foreshadowed the biggest economic slump since the Great Depression due to the coronavirus outbreak.
All the major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell more than 2%, with the energy index sliding for the seventh time in eight sessions a day after the WTI contract crashed below zero as oil traders ran out of storage for May deliveries.
With the collapse spilling into June futures contracts, investors became wary of the extent of the economic damage from sweeping lockdown measures that have halted business activity and sparked millions of layoffs.
With many sectors facing the risk of a collapse, investors are looking to first-quarter earnings reports for the impact of the health crisis on Corporate America after big U.S. banks set the stage with dismal outlooks for 2020.
"What we're hearing about is a quarter that's in the rear-view mirror, but also do not know what the future holds in the second quarter, which is probably going to be worse," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.
The benchmark S&P 500 index has climbed over 25% from a March low, powered by trillions of dollars in stimulus, but still remains nearly 17% below its record high due to state-wide shutdowns to try to contain the virus.
U.S. jobless claims hit 22 million in the past month as companies launched dramatic cost-saving measures to ride out the slump, and readings of U.S. business activity surveys, due Thursday, are likely to plummet to recession-era lows.
The financials index fell 2.9% as the flight from risk sent investors scurrying to the perceived safety of bonds and the dollar.
Coca-Cola Co provided the latest evidence of the damage wrought by the pandemic, saying its current-quarter results would take a severe hit from low demand for sodas.
Travelers Companies, the first of the big U.S. insurers to report results, reported a 25% fall in quarterly profit, hurt by higher catastrophe losses, but its shares rose 2.5%.
Among other Dow components, International Business Machines Corp slid 6.2% after the company withdrew its 2020 annual forecast late on Monday.
Chip industry bellwether Texas Instruments is set to report its first-quarter earnings later in the day.
At 11:42 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 657.32 points, or 2.78%, at 22,993.12, the S&P 500 was down 90.29 points, or 3.20%, at 2,732.87 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 329.55 points, or 3.85%, at 8,231.18.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers more than 7-to-1 on the NYSE and 4-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 18 new highs and 24 new lows. (Reporting by C Nivedita