North American markets fell modestly as trade uncertainty revved up between the U.S. and China ahead of an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 26.12 points at 16,466.05.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 23.33 points at 27,198.02. The S&P 500 index was down 7.79 points at 3,013.18, while the Nasdaq composite was down 19.71 points at 8,273.61.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US75.94¢, compared with Monday’s average of US75.99¢.

The September crude contract was up US$1.18 at US$58.05 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was up US3.1¢ at US$2.14 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up $8.50 at US$1,441.80 an ounce and the September copper contract was down US3.9¢ at US$2.68 a pound.