The Toronto Stock Exchange posted its first loss in four trading sessions Tuesday as investors paid more attention to the bad news than the good. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 29.38 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 11,716.69. Materials and energy led the declines, though it was a decent day for financial stocks following the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's decision on world banking reforms that would allow assets such as minority stakes in other financial firms to count as capital. Gold prices in New York had their lowest close in three months, dropping $25.20 to $1,161.80 US an ounce. Crude oil was down $1.48 to $77.50 US a barrel. The Canadian dollar was off 35 basis points to 96.51 cents US. Talisman Energy Inc. and Roger Communications Inc. both reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts expectations. Talisman stock was up 2.34 per cent to $17.49, though Rogers stock fell 1.52 per cent to $36.83. Rogers did not boost its guidance for the remainder of the year and that "suggests the company expects a meaningful slowdown in growth" said Bank of Montreal analyst Tim Casey in a research note. Looking at the beleaguered gold sector, Barrick Gold Corp. was down 3.9 per cent to $41.44, and Goldcorp Inc. was down 3.39 per cent to $40.19. In the banking sector, Royal Bank of Canada rose 1.81 per cent to close at $53.40, and Bank of Nova Scotia was up 1.63 per cent to $51.19. The junior TSX Venture composite was down 7.17 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,396.28. In the U.S., a measure of consumer confidence from the Conference Board was at its lowest level in five months. "Consumer confidence is the market's top craving," Adrian Mastracci, portfolio manager with KCM Wealth Management in Vancouver, said in a note to clients Tuesday. He added that the most important determinants of consumer confidence are job and income stability or improvement. "Markets are clearly telegraphing the shakiness of this picture. They would like to change the listless ways with some clear direction." On the brighter side of the U.S. economic picture, home prices south of the border were higher than expected in May, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 12.26 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 10,537.69 on Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index, on the other hand, was down 8.18 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 2,288.25. European and Asian markets were mostly higher, except for the slight 0.07 per cent decline on Japan's Nikkei index.

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