The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 12.85 points to 12,211.34 while the TSX Venture Exchange gained 4.63 points to 1,643.15. A flight to safety in the form of U.S. Treasuries pushed the Canadian dollar down 0.48 of a cent to 97.86 cents US.
However, the currency was off early lows after Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales rose 2.6 per cent to $49.2 billion in September. It was the third straight monthly increase.
U.S. markets were listless but sentiment improved after the Commerce Department reported that retail sales for October came in better than expected.
Sales rose 0.5 per cent, up for a fifth straight month and better than the 0.3 per cent rise that economists expected. Auto sales rose 0.4 per cent. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.6 per cent, the best showing since March.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.36 points to 12,077.62, the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.89 of a point to 2,658.11 while the S&P 500 index dipped 0.02 of a point to 1,251.76.
Italy was at the forefront of worry with bond markets skeptical that the country can get a grip on its huge debt.
The yield on the country’s 10-year bond was up another 0.43 of a percentage point Tuesday to 7.01 per cent. It was that sort of rate that eventually forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek multibillion bailouts.
The problem this time is that Italy is the eurozone’s third-biggest economy and widely thought to be too big to save.
Spain’s equivalent rate is getting uncomfortably high too, rising a further 0.18 percentage point to 6.26 per cent. And France, the eurozone’s second biggest economy has seen its 10-year yield rise another 0.17 percentage point to 3.59 per cent.
Stock markets have stalled in recent weeks even as North American economic data have been generally positive and companies are just completing a very successful third quarter earnings season.
The worry is that Europe's debt crisis will plunge the region back into recession and derail a fragile economic recovery.
That is particularly bad news for commodity prices and in turn share prices for energy and mining companies on the resource-heavy TSX.
Commodity prices were mixed amid the higher U.S. dollar.
A stronger greenback usually helps depress prices for oil and metals, which are denominated in dollars, as it makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed early losses and moved up 80 cents to US$98.94 a barrel. The energy sector was off 0.21 per cent with Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) down 19 cents to $24.56.
Bullion also turned around, rising $4.20 to US$1,782.60 an ounce and the gold sector was ahead 0.26 per cent. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) ran ahead 63 cents to $53.75.
But copper prices were down one cent to US$3.48 and the base metals sector was down 0.88 per cent. First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM) dropped 38 cents to $18.17.
The financials sector was also lower while Royal Bank (TSX:RY) fell 42 cents to $45.48.
European markets lost ground amid mixed economic news.
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office said that the country’s economy grew by a solid 0.5 per cent during the third quarter. Europe’s largest economy was 2.6 per cent larger in the July to September quarter compared with a year earlier.
But new data measuring investor sentiment showed that businesses remain wary as Europe’s sprawling debt crisis weighs on growth prospects.
The ZEW investor sentiment index for November fell for the ninth month in a row to minus 55.2 points from minus 48.3 points in October.
London's FTSE 100 index lost 0.56 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX fell 1.29 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 gave back 1.75 per cent.
Earlier in the day, Asian stock markets were mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.7 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 0.9 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent. Benchmarks in Australia, Taiwan and Singapore also retreated. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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