12:17 PM EDT, 09/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The TSX is down 282 points at midday, with nearly all sectors lower. This comes after Canada's main stock market on Friday closed just shy of Monday's record close.

The biggest decliners today are miners, down 6.4% and energy, down 3%. Telecoms, and healthcare, both up 0.4%, are the sole gainers.

Oil prices weakened for a second-straight session early on Tuesday as further weak economic data from China, the end of the U.S. summer driving season and next month's likely return of some shut-in supply from OPEC offset falling supply from Libya.

Gold edged lower, falling for a second-session from Thursday's record despite weaker treasury yields as the dollar rose.

Natural gas was steady, but had fallen off overnight gains as forecasts see cooler weather on the way.

BMO Economics in its morning note, said the Bank of Canada's policy announcement comes on Wednesday morning, and August job figures on Friday. The BoC is widely expected to cut rates 25 bps to 4.25% this week. BMO noted last week's Q2 GDP report had a "decent headline, but the details were soft". It said the flat June reading and flash for July GDP highlighted the lack of momentum heading into the third quarter. "Clearly the economy is struggling, and we'll get more insight into the labour market at the end of the week." Meantime, BMO said, inflation has continued to slow, and given the widening output gap, will likely remain on a decelerating path. The recent pullback in energy prices will provide a helping hand as well if sustained, it added. With that backdrop, there's no reason for policy rates to remain above neutral, which looks to keep the BoC on a rate cutting path well into 2025, said BMO.

BMO noted that last week the TSX eked out a +0.3% gain, leaving it up 11.4% year-to-date. Gains were led by financials (+1.9%), following mostly solid bank earnings, and consumer discretionary (+0.3%). Health care (-2.8%) and materials (-1.7%) saw the largest declines.

On the U.S., BMO noted the "marquee release" this week is Friday's employment report with its huge influence on what the FOMC does and says on September 18. With Chair Powell heralding from Jackson Hole that "the time has come for policy to adjust", BMO reckons it's now up to the data to dissuade the Fed from cutting 25 bps instead of persuading it to act. And, BMO added, with Powell proclaiming further that "we do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions", should such cooling unfold, this would lift the risk of the Fed's inaugural action to being 50 bps. However, BMO looks for the growth in August payrolls to rebound from July's "dismal" 114k print (to above 160k) and for the jobless rate to remain at 4.3%. Such results would keep 25 bps locked in, it added.

Later this week, before the employment report, the major events are the Fed's Beige Book (Wednesday) and the ISM Services PMI (Thursday).