Nov 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday, taking cues from Wall Street peers, as cautious investors awaited leading chipmaker Nvidia's quarterly earnings due later in the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 76.06 points, or 0.3%, at 24,934.71.
Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, will report third-quarter earnings after the bell.
The options market expects a near $300 billion swing in the AI-darling's market value following its results.
Wall Street's main indexes also dropped as Nvidia's shares lost ground ahead of the results and retailer Target plunged following weak forecasts.
The escalating geopolitical tensions amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict also impacted investor sentiment, with the United States shutting its embassy in Kyiv due to "specific information of a potential significant air attack."
On the TSX, at least nine sectors nursed losses, led by consumer discretionary shares that slipped 0.9%.
The Canadian 10-year benchmark yield rose as much as five basis points, mirroring its U.S. counterpart. This weighed on the rate-sensitive real estate sector that fell 0.8%.
In contrast, the energy sector limited overall losses, rising 0.5%, after oil prices steadied as supply concerns stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war offset data showing rising U.S. crude stocks.
The top gainers on the TSX index were International Petroleum <IPCO.TO>, up 4.4%, Vermilion Energy, up 2.3%, and Baytex Energy, up 1.9%.
"We're seeing that U.S. markets are down a little bit more than Canada," as they await Nvidia's earnings, said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
"In Canada, however, gold is up, crude oil is up and so that's helping resource stocks, which may be cushioning the blow."
Investors also looked forward to the announcement of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, which may come as soon as Wednesday.
Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas
Source: Reuters