12:09 PM EDT, 07/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Toronto Stock Exchange, which was up about 50 points in early trade, is now down 63 points on the first day of trade after the Canada Day Holiday Weekend.

Energy (+1%), is the biggest gainer, followed by healthcare (+0.63%) and miners (+0.5%).

Telecoms, down 2%, is the biggest decliner, followed by utilities (-0.85%).

Oil traded at the highest in 10 weeks early Tuesday on expectations for high summer demand, continuing violence in the Middle East and an early start to the hurricane season.

Gold edged down for a second day despite a weakening dollar and lower treasury yields.

Natural gas traded at the lowest in six weeks as production rises and inventories remain bloated.

In its morning note, BMO Economics noted Canadian markets were back in action after the holiday weekend here, and looked set to follow the softer U.S. start this morning. BMO noted the TSX "had itself a decent first half of the year", posting a 4.4% advance. It said "that's a solid result, but is still a tad disappointing" when stacked up against a near-15% rally in the S&P 500. BMO added: "While there have been some trouble spots in Canada -- a tough bank earnings season and a bear-market in telecom -- the TSX has still managed to scramble to that gain with help from resources."

While the Bank of Canada has begun easing, BMO noted that they've done so "gingerly", leaving even 2-year GoC yields slightly higher on the year. BMO said: "While a follow-up rate cut is certainly possible later this month, we'll need the data to cooperate in order to move forward our September call."

With Canadian inflation "melting away" much quicker than Stateside, and the BoC easing ahead of the Fed, BMO noted the loonie lost more than 3% against the U.S. dollar in the first half. To be fair, BMO added, this isn't just a case of Canada lagging, as the trade-weighted dollar was up a firm 4.5% with a host of large central banks pivoting ahead of the Fed.