Equity markets in Canada’s largest centre remained on their downward path by the close Monday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy guidance and concerns over slowing global growth.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 243.88 points, or 1.7%, to close Monday at 14,351.19
The Canadian dollar eased 0.12 cents to 74.58 U.S.
Health-care stocks got pelted, most notably Bausch Health Companies, backpedaling $1.55, or 5.1%, to $29.04, while Aphria dwindled 30 cents, or 4%, to $7.17.
Another of the biggest decliners was Shopify Inc, which slumped $13.62, or 7.3%, to $174.04. Elsewhere in tech stocks, BlackBerry lost 17 cents, or 1.7%, to $10.01.
Real-estate issues were also weak, as Colliers International Group, off $1.05, or 1.5%, to $70.33. Units of Canadian Apartment Properties REIT were down 38 cents to $44.98.
Only gold, it seems, had something good to say, Alamos Gold jumped 34 cents, or 8.5%, to $4.32, and Pretium Resources Inc, rose $1.02, or 10.3%, to $10.97
The Wall Street Journal reported that a Glencore-controlled mining company and some of its current and former executives have agreed to pay more than $22 million to settle Canadian allegations they hid the risks of doing business with an Israeli close to Congolese President Joseph Kabila
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada said foreign investment in Canadian securities totaled $4.0 billion in October, down from $7.8 billion in September. At the same time, Canadian investment in foreign securities increased to $14.9 billion, the largest investment since January 2018.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said home sales via Canadian MLS Systems fell by 2.3% in November 2018, adding to the decline in October of 1.7%. While the number of homes trading hands is still up from its low point in the spring, it remains below monthly levels posted from 2014 through 2017.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange floundered 8.43 points, or 1.5%, to 546.95
All but one of the 12 TSX subgroups remained negative on the day, with health-care down 4.6%, information technology fading 2.9%, and real-estate off 2.7%.
The lone gainers was in gold, up 2.1%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks dove Monday, pushing the S&P 500 toward a new closing low for the year as investors grew worried that the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates could be too much for the economy and stock market to handle.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 507.53 points to 23,592.98, with losses in UnitedHealth, Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs dragging the blue-chip index lower.
The S&P 500 dropped 54.01 points, or 2%, to 2,545.94, as Amazon got slammed 5.1%.
The Dow and S&P 500, which are both in corrections, are on track for their worst December performance since the Great Depression in 1931. The prior low close for the S&P 500 was 2,581, reached in early February. The market would eventually rebound to a new record in September before another selloff hit this quarter.
The Dow is now more than 12% off its 52-week high as its two-day losses surpassed 1,000 points; the S&P 500 is 13% off its record high notched back in September.
The NASDAQ shed earlier gains and plummeted 156.93 points, or 2.3%, to 6,753.73, as Microsoft dropped nearly 3.8%. All three major U.S. indexes closed in correction territory for the first time since March 2016 in the prior trading session.
Shares of Goldman Sachs fell 2.6% Monday after Malaysian authorities filed criminal charges against the bank and two former partners in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal.
The company is under fire for its role in helping raise $6.5 billion through three bond offerings for 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which is the subject of investigations in at least six countries.
Electronics retailer Best Buy was on track for a rough day on Wall Street after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded its stock to underperform on concerns of slowing sales.
Best Buy’s stock fell more than 5.2%.
Meanwhile, New York manufacturers reported on Monday that business activity is still expanding, but growth slower much more than expected in December.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s general business conditions index, aggregated by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, fell to 10.9 from 23.3 in November, falling short the 20.6 print expected by economists polled by Refinitiv.
Homebuilder sentiment fell to its lowest level since May 2015 in December as potential buyers delay purchasing new homes despite a pullback in mortgage rates in the past month. Sentiment declined four points in December to 56, well below December 2017's print of 74, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.
Investors are also on edge ahead of the December meeting of the Federal Reserve’s policymaking arm. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hike its benchmark overnight lending rate for a fourth and final time of 2018 this week.
While fears of rising interest rates and an ambitious Fed have spooked markets throughout 2018, such concerns have evolved over the past month as inflation and growth expectations recede.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury grew, lowering yields 2.86% from Friday’s 2.9%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices sank $1.89 to $49.31 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $8.80 to $1,250.20 U.S. an ounce.
