After three sessions of gains, the TSX ended the day in negative territory on Tuesday, falling 29.38 points to 11,716.69, as gold prices tumbled and investors took in consumer confidence numbers on both sides of the border.

The TSX Global Gold index was one of the main decliners of the day, down 2.6%, as gold for August delivery slid $25.10 to $1,158 an ounce, and gold stocks such as Goldcorp (TSX: T-G), Barrick Gold (TSX: T-ABX), Eldorado Gold (TSX: T-ELD) and New Gold (TSX: T-NGD) each ended the day down more than 2.5%.

Meanwhile, the energy sector gave back 0.4% as crude oil for September delivery slipped $1.48 to $77.50 a barrel. Elsewhere the financials and healthcare sectors were among the few bright spots on Tuesday, climbing 1.6% and 0.5% respectively.

The TSX Venture ended the day down 7.20 points to 1,396.26.

In economic news, the Conference Board of Canada reported that consumer confidence fell 3.7 points in July to 80. Also, the Conference Board in the United States said that its Consumer Confidence Index fell in July after a sharp decline in June. The Index now stands at 50.4, down from 54.3 last month.

On the TSX, shares of Talisman Energy (TSX: T-TLM) climbed 40 cents to $17.49, after the company reported its second quarter results, including net income of $603 million compared to $63 million in the same quarter last year, as a result of mark-to-market losses on derivatives. Talisman says production averaged 411,000 boe/d in the quarter, down from 424,000 boe/d in the second quarter of 2009 as a result of non-core asset sales. Underlying production from continuing operations averaged 387,000 boe/d, up 2% over last year, says the company.