Roundup: Canadian stock market drops as resources lose ground

Canada's main stock market in Toronto dropped on Tuesday as resources shares lost ground following a rally in the last trading day, when selloffs both in miners and energy triggered investors' concern.

Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 66.16 points, or 0.43 percent, to 15,346.44 points, with five of the eight major sectors in the negative territory.

Metals and mining plunged 3.19 percent, leading TSX losers after a rally of 2.34 percent on Monday, when Teck Resources Ltd. nosedived 6.44 percent to 15.83 Canadian dollars (about 12.89 U.S. Dollars) per share, after the Canadian basic metals giant reported first quarter adjusted profit attributable to shareholders of 64 million Canadian dollars, down 40 percent from a year earlier.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the heavyweight in this sector, also lost 3.19 percent to 16.09 Canadian dollars.

The energy sector gave back 1.50 percent when June crude contract was down 1.27 U.S. dollars at 56.61 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Suncor Energy Inc. slipped 0.87 percent to 39.92 Canadian dollars and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. dropped 2 percent to 40.13 Canadian dollars.

Industrials declined 1.84 percent when shares of Canada's two major railways fell, although both reported upbeat earnings results in the first quarter.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. shrank 2.17 percent to 232.12 Canadian dollars even though the company reported Tuesday a 10 percent gain in the first quarter to 1.67 billion Canadian dollars.

Another major railway giant Canadian National Railway Company also announced stronger than expected quarterly results after the closing bell on Tuesday, but its shares slumped 3.08 percent to 80. 78 Canadian dollars.

Analysts believed that the recent drop in oil prices has highlighted the vulnerability of the Canadian economy, which may weighed on the Canadian industry.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, dipped 0. 35 percent, as Toronto-Dominion Bank declined 0.28 percent to 55. 99 Canadian dollars, and Manulife Financial Corp. dropped 0.32 percent to 22.07 Canadian dollars.

However, healthcare shares bucked the trend by soaring 1.60 percent when its leading company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. surged 3.28 percent to 259.38 Canadian dollars.

Telecom added 0.42 percent as Rogers Communications Inc. declared a 5 percent increase in revenue. Its shares rose 0.47 percent to 25.59 Canadian dollars.

On the economic docket, Canada's conservative government promised to cut small business tax in 2015 budget released on Tuesday. Finance Minister Joe Oliver said Tuesday that Ottawa will gradually reduce the small business tax rate to nine percent from 11 percent beginning in 2016, and "this will be the largest tax- rate cut for small businesses in more than 25 years," he said.

Besides, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that the wholesale sales declined for a second consecutive month in February, decreasing 0.4 percent to 53.6 billion Canadian dollars, their lowest level in six months.

On the currency front, the Canadian dollar closed lower at 0. 8143 U.S. dollar, compared with 0.8177 U.S. dollar on Monday. Endite