Canada's main stock index fell on Monday as a spike in U.S. Treasury yields fostered concerns about the prospect of higher interest rates.
The S&P/TSX Composite let go of 253.78, or 1.2%, to reach toward noon hour EST at 20,830.67.
The Canadian dollar hesitated 0.23 cents to 78.82 cents U.S.
Tech stocks took it on the chin Monday morning, with Docebo sliding $4.86, or 7.2%, to $62.23, while Nuvei docked $4.95, or 6.2%, to $75.21.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Spin Master Corp. lost $1.87. or 4.1%, to $43.50, while Aritzia unloaded $2.26, or 4.5%, to $48.05.
On the bright side, Tilray jumped $1.14, or 14%, to $9.27.and was the largest percentage gainer on the index, after the Canadian cannabis producer reported a surprise quarterly profit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange caved 25.61 points, or 2.8%, to 885.85..
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups were negative during the morning, with information technology down 3.7%, industrials backing off 1.4%, and consumer discretionary stocks falling 1.3%.
The lone gainers was in health-care, up 1.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell Monday morning, extending a rocky start to 2022 for equity markets as interest rates rise.
The Dow Jones Industrials jettisoned 480.37 points, or 1.3%, to 35,751.29.
The S&P 500 wallowed 73.03 points, or 1.6%, to 4,604.
The NASDAQ floundered 290.59 points, or 1.9%, at 14,645.31.
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ are coming off four straight days of losses, while the Dow has retreated in three consecutive sessions.
Large tech stocks were under pressure in early trading, with shares of Facebook-parent Meta and chipmaker Nvidia falling more than 4% and Amazon dropping 3%. Shares of video game publisher Take-Two fell more than 13% after the company announced a deal to purchase Zynga.
The NASDAQ is now down more than 6% for the year and is roughly 10% below its intraday record high from November. High-growth stocks in particular have struggled as interest rates jumped, especially after the Fed minutes released Wednesday showed central bankers discussing balance sheet reduction.
On Sunday, Goldman Sachs projected the Federal Reserve to hike rates four times in 2022, signaling that Wall Street increasingly expects the central bank to get aggressive in an attempt to curb inflation.
Earnings season also kicks off this week. The S&P 500 is expected to show a growth rate of 21.7%, which would be the fourth straight quarter above 20%
Financial heavyweights JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo release quarterly results Friday.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell slightly, raising yields to 1.79% from Friday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gave back 27 cents to $78.63 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices ducked $3.40 to $1,794.00 U.S. an ounce.
