04:17 PM EDT, 10/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower for a second-straight day on Tuesday, continuing a retreat from Friday's record close as commodity prices weakened.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 30.20 points to end at 24,072.51. Base Metals and Energy issues led the drop, down 3.69% and 2.3%, respectively. Information Technology and Industrials were the biggest gainers, up 1.1% and 0.6%, respectively.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed sharply lower on Tuesday, falling for the first time in six sessions as China avoiding new stimulus measures to revive a flagging economy rose above worries over a spreading Middle Eastern war. WTI crude for November delivery closed down US$3.57 to settle at US$73.57 per barrel, while December Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed down US$3.75 to US$77.18.

Gold traded down late afternoon on Tuesday, moving lower for a third-straight session even as treasury yields narrowed. Gold for December delivery was last seen down US$25.60 to US$2,640.40 per ounce.

Vikas Dwivedi, Global Energy Strategist at Macquarie noted over the last week the oil price had recovered to End of August levels after geopolitical risk premium surged following Iran's Oct.1 strike on Israel, though demand fundamental are expected to reassert themselves.

Dwivedi said the concern over a potential Israeli strike on Iranian oil infrastructure initiated the rally, further aided by large, speculative short-covering. Macquarie anticipates additional volatility as the market weighs bearish fundamentals against supply risk due to rising Middle East tensions. Ultimately, the bank expects a correction in Q4 2024 as large supply and demand surpluses start to realize.

"The aforementioned bearish fundamentals are due to late year U.S. supply growth, the partial return of OPEC+ barrels, and soft oil demand led by distillate demand weakness," Dwivedi added.

Lingering concerns around the Canadian labor market also continue to weigh on investor sentiment.

National Bank on said in a foreign-exchange note a "particularly concerning aspect" for the Canadian economy is the sharp rise in the unemployment rate among young men, which reached a multi-year high of 16.3% in August. As the Bank of Canada grapples with disinflation and a weakening labor market, National Bank sees a growing case for more aggressive monetary easing on this side of the border.