Stocks in Canada’s largest market settled by Monday’s close, weighed by weakness in tech and energy stocks. Gold issues were in the red, too.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slumped 69.94 points to close Monday at 15,969.03
The Canadian dollar surged 1.28 cents to 78.84 cents U.S.
Energy stocks took some lumps, as Suncor Energy fell 83 cents, or 1.9%, to $43.72. Imperial Oil slowed 13 cents to $39.50.
The largest percentage decliner on the index was Shopify Inc. down $7.94, or 6.1%, to $122.90. Elsewhere among tech stocks, BlackBerry lost 41 cents, or 3%, to $13.28.
Gold stocks such as Goldcorp tumbled 22 cents, or 1.3%, to $15.93, while Barrick Gold subtracted 15 cents to $17.70.
The largest percentage gainer on the TSX was uranium producer Cameco Corp, which surged $1.57, or 13%, to $13.61. Analysts said plans by Kazakhstan's state-run uranium mining company to cut production could boost the price of the metal.
Industrials rose, led by a 73-cent gain for Canadian National Railway to $101.60, while Air Canada shares took flight 51 cents, or 2.1%, to $24.90.
Among health-care concerns, Canopy Growth Corporation took on 18 cents, or 1%, to $18.18, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals improved 31 cents, or 1.4%, to $22.23.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 1.56 points to 787.44
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were down on the day, as information technology and energy each sank 1.8%, while gold was off 1.5%
The two gainers were industrials, forging ahead 0.3%, while health-care moved up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones industrial average notched a record closing high on Monday after the Senate narrowly passed a major tax bill over the weekend.
The Dow came well off its 300-point-plus highs of the day, but still gained 58.46 points to end Monday at 24,290.05, less than a week since shattering the 24K mark for the first time, Walt Disney and Boeing being Monday’s leading advancers.
The S&P 500 flirted with another all-time high, before losing 2.78 points to 2,639.44, as information technology fell nearly 2%.
The NASDAQ Composite lost 23.2 points, however, to 6,824.39, as Facebook, Alphabet and Netflix all finished lower.
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan all rose.
Shifting to corporate news, CVS Health said it will buy Aetna, a U.S. health insurer, for $69 billion. The agreement is seen as one of 2017's biggest deals so far in the merger and acquisition (M&A) space. CVS shares slipped 4.6%, while Aetna declined 1.4%.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that a deal by Disney to buy some of 21st Century Fox's assets is "gaining momentum," despite speculation that the conversation between the two parties had cooled off. Disney shares rose 4.7%, while Fox shares gained 2.8%.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, Senate Republicans managed to narrowly pass a bill to revamp the country's tax system. The final vote came out as 51-49 in favour, after Republicans had to rework the bill late on Thursday.
The GOP, however, still need to overcome future obstacles in order for the Senate and the House to craft a joint bill, which will then be presented to President Donald Trump. Republicans hope a deal will be achieved by Christmas.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rallied, lowering yields to Friday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 91 cents a barrel to $57.45 U.S.
Gold prices skidded three dollars to $1,279.30 U.S. an ounce.
