Equities in Canada’s largest centre fell once again Monday morning, weighed mostly by health-care concerns.
The TSX Composite Index sank 127 points to open Monday at 25,020.03.
The Canadian dollar shed 0.12 cents to 70.24 cents U.S.
This week, Canada and Mexico are expected to intensify discussions to avoid 25% tariffs on their exports to the U.S., aiming to convince President Donald Trump’s administration that their efforts to enhance border security and curb fentanyl trafficking are effective, ahead of a March 4 deadline.
In corporate news, Britain’s National Grid has reached a deal to sell its U.S. onshore renewables business to investment firm Brookfield Asset Management for $1.74 billion including debt. Brookfield shares ditched $1.37, or 1.6%, to $81.94.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 9.77 points, or 1.5%, to 624.92.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were lower by Friday’s close, weighed most by information technology, sliding 3%, while gold and materials each stepped back 2.8%
The two positive subgroups were telecoms, soaring, and utilities, up 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 inched lower Monday as the market failed to bounce back following Friday’s steep sell-off, with shares of major tech companies under pressure.
The Dow Jones Industrials forged ahead 11.03 points to open the week at 43,439.05.
The much-broader index shed 21.08 points to 5,992.05
The NASDAQ Composite fell 193.73 points, or 1%, to 19,330.28.
Shares of Palantir tumbled more than 10% on Monday, pulling the NASDAQ lower. Microsoft shed 2% after an analyst report from TD Cowen said the company is cutting spending on data centers, raising fears of weakness in the artificial intelligence trade.
Chipmaking giant Nvidia slipped 0.6%.
The moves follow the stock market’s fall last week. The Dow and NASDAQ dropped more than 2% each last week, while the S&P 500 dropped more than 1%. On Friday alone, the Dow dropped more than 700 points, while the S&P 500 fell 1.7%, and NASDAQ shed 2.2%.
The week ahead includes key readings on corporate earnings and the economy. Earnings reports from Home Depot and Lowe’s on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, will give investors a better sense of how U.S. consumers are faring. Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday evening could be even more impactful, as the artificial intelligence-linked chipmaker is still one of the biggest stocks by market cap.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.40% from Friday’s 4.43%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices inched up five cents to $70.45 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold fell $2.10 an ounce to $2,951.10 U.S.
