Stocks in Canada’s largest centre went south Monday, amid fears interest rates could accelerate on both sides of the border. The drop was aided by decreases energy and utility concerns.
The TSX Composite Index declined 83.86 points to conclude Monday at 21,790.49.
The Canadian dollar swooned 0.32 cents to 79.18 cents U.S.
Energy stocks weighed most heavily, as MEG Energy skidded 85 cents, or 4.8%, to $16.71, and Parex Resources fell $1.20, or 4.6%, to $24.79.
Among utilities, Boralex stumbled $2.79, or 6.7%, to $39.18, while Innergex Renewable lost 95 cents, or 4.8%, to $18.80.
In real-estate, Primaris REIT fell 41 cents, or 2.7%, to $14.56, while Summit Industrial REIT doffed 51 cents, or 2.4%, to $20.83.
Consumer staples carried the banner for gainers, as Primo Water tallied 31 cents, or 1.7%, to $18.21, while Saputo gathered 24 cents to $30.29.
Among techs, Shopify jumped $23.67, or 3.1%, to $781.65, while Sierra Wireless grew 29 cents, or 1.4%, to $20.89.
In materials, Stella-Jones hiked 74 cents, or 2%, to $38.37, while Nutrien leaped $2.89, or 2.2%, to $136.16.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange subtracted 11.88 points, or 1.3%, to 876.33.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were down on the session, with energy hurtling lower 2.3%, utilities faltering 1.1%, and real-estate sliding 1%.
The three gainers were consumer staples, up 0.3%, information technology, better by 0.2%, and materials, prouder 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Monday as investors grew increasingly concerned a three-year high in the benchmark U.S. interest rate would start to slow the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrials hit the “down” switch on the elevator, 413.04 points, or 1.2%, to close Monday at 34,308.08.
The S&P 500 lost 75.75 points, or 1.7%, to 4,412.53
The NASDAQ Composite subtracted 299.04 points, or 2.2%, to 13,411.96.
Concerns over higher interest rates have spurred investors to drop more risky assets, such as tech stocks that led losses on Monday. Microsoft declined 3.9%. Semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia fell 5.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices lost 3.6%.
Oil prices dropped on Monday amid fears that COVID lockdowns in China would depress global demand. International benchmark
Energy stocks declined as a group. Occidental Petroleum is down 4.7%, Diamondback Energy is down 4.3% and ConocoPhillips fell 4%.
To be sure, airline stocks bucked the broader market’s negative trend, as Delta Air Lines spiked 4%. Alaska Air Group popped 1%, American Airlines Group jumped 2.3%, Southwest Airlines ticked upward 3.4% and United Airlines Holdings jumped 1.1%.
Meanwhile, AT&T surged 7.7% after spinning off WarnerMedia to merge with Discovery. JPMorgan analysts liked the decision, giving AT&T an overweight rating and saying the stock is now trading at a discount.
Twitter’s stock was on the move after CEO Parag Agrawal revealed that Elon Musk abandoned his plan to join the company’s board. Shares for the social media company dropped more than 8% in the pre-market, but had recovered to gain 1.7% in Monday trading.
Later this week, the first-quarter earnings season will hit its stride with some major banks and airlines reporting earnings. On Wednesday, JPMorgan and Delta Air Lines will report their earnings before the bell. On Thursday, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are expected to report before markets open.
Treasury prices fell as yields increased to 2.77%, from Friday’s 2.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices doffed $3.35 to $94.91 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $11.40 to $1,957 U.S. an ounce.
