Canadian Stocks Slide, Led By Energy Losses -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks fell Tuesday, as the rally in gold and oil prices petered out.

Traders were in a cautious mood due to reports that President Donald Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russian officials. A Washington Post report claims Trump revealed details of an Islamic State terrorist threat to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week.

The TSX Composite Index was up 83.79 points to 15,545.68.

Energy stocks struggled as the world's oil watchdog gave a mixed assessment of the global supply picture. The International Energy Agency said non-OPEC output would grow by 600,000 bpd this year, but that markets are in the process of re-balancing.

Still, crude oil slipped back below $49, and energy stocks dropped 1.2 percent. Financials continued to slump, losing 0.6 percent amid lingering concerns about contagion related to Home Capital Group (HCG.TO).

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz on Monday downplayed concerns that Home Capital's subprime troubles will spread to major banks.

Bell Canada says 1.9 million email addresses were illegally accessed by hackers unrelated to the WannaCry hack. BCE shares were fractionally lower.

Canada is moving toward a new airline passenger bill of rights that will outlaw overbooking on flights. Air Canada shares rose 5.3 percent.