Stocks followed the momentum of resource stocks Monday, and finished the day below the levels at which they ended last week.
The TSX Composite Index dropped 35.64 points to end Monday, the month of September and the third calendar quarter at 16,658.63
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.04 cents at 75.50 cents U.S.
Consumer discretionary stocks took the checked flag, as BRP Inc. climbed $1.22, or 2.4%, to $51.68, while Magna International gained $1.33, or 1.9%, to $70.65.
Among tech issues, Descartes Group acquired 86 cents, or 1.6%, to $53.48, while Shopify improved $7.40, or 1.8%, to $412.30
In the industrial sector, Bombardier roared ahead five cents, or 2.9%, to $40.63, while TFI International jumped $1.08, or 2.7%, to $40.56.
Gold weighed on the index, as Alamos Gold sank 38 cents, or 4.7%, to $7.70, while Iamgold collapsed 32 cents, or 6.6%, to $4.52.
Among health-care issues, the beleaguered CannTrust Holdings got hammered 10 cents, or 6.3%, to $1.50, while HEXO Corporation skidded 32 cents, or 5.8%, to $5.23.
Elsewhere in metals, Endeavor Mining tumbled 29 cents, or 4.9%, to $25.32, while First Majestic Silver slid 70 cents, or 5.5%, to $12.05.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada’s industrial product price index rose 0.2% in August. Higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products and for primary non-ferrous metal products were mostly offset by lower prices for energy and petroleum products.
Meanwhile, the agency’s raw materials price index fell 1.8%, mainly as a result of lower prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 10.9 points, or 1.9%, close the day at 558.68
Seven of the 12 Toronto subgroups were positive by the closing bell. Consumer discretionary had bettered themselves by 1.1%, information technology muscled up 1%, while industrials jumped 0.8%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, down 2.7%, health-care, off 2.82%, and materials, sinking 1.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose on Monday amid optimism around U.S.-China trade talks as Wall Street wrapped up a volatile third quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its highs of the day, but still finished positive 96.58 points to 26,916.83
The S&P 500 added 14.95 points to 2,976.74
The NASDAQ Composite restocked 59.71 points to 7,999.34
The Dow and S&P 500 gained more than 1% each for the quarter while the NASDAQ dipped 0.1%. It was the third straight quarterly gain for the Dow and S&P 500.
For September, the Dow picked up 1.9%, and S&P 500 gained 1.7%. The NASDAQ gained 0.5% in September.
Tech was among the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500, advancing 1.1% as Apple shares rose 2.4% on a price-target increase by an analyst at J.P. Morgan. The analyst’s new price target implies a more-than 20% increase for the tech giant over the next 12 months.
KLA Corp proved the best performer of the third quarter in the S&P 500, gaining more than 30% in that time. Western Digital, Target and Lam Research all jumped over 20% in the quarter.
Macy’s and Ulta Beauty did not fare so well. Both stocks lost around 30% of their value in the third quarter.
U.S. and China trade delegations are due to meet on Oct. 10 as both sides try to move closer to a deal. Both countries have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of their goods, dampening expectations for economic and corporate profit growth.
The major indexes were headed for a mixed monthly performance. The NASDAQ was down slightly for September entering Monday’s session while the S&P 500 and Dow were up more than 1%.
Monday also marked the end of the third quarter. Both the Dow and S&P 500 were headed for their third straight quarterly gains. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, was on pace to notch its first quarterly decline of 2019.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were slightly higher, lowering yields to 1.67% from Friday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.56 to $54.35 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $27.20 to $1,473.80 U.S. an ounce.
