Stocks in Canada’s largest centre had lost ground by the close on Monday, as losses in the gold patch overrode gains in the health-care sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index docked 13.08 points to end Monday at 16,600.37
The Canadian dollar gained 0.18 cents to 74.36 cents
Gold dragged things down, though, with Barrick Gold slipping 49 cents, or 2.8%, to $17.01, while Kinross Gold slid 12 cents, or 2.7%, to $4.31.
In materials, First Majestic Silver was down by 32 cents, or 3.8%, to $8.17, as First Quantum Minerals declined 40 cents, or 2.7%, to $14.64.
In utilities, Hydro One dropped nine cents to $21.61, while Fortis backpedaled 16 cents to $49.34.
Among the largest percentage gainers on the TSX was Hexo, which rose 65 cents, or 6.2%, to $11.13.
Techs also found strength, as BlackBerry took on 13 cents, or 1.1%, to $12.51, while Shopify soared $4.98, or 1.7%, to $304.08.
In the financial area, Royal Bank of Canada gained 74 cents to $106.65, while Scotiabank was higher 32 cents to $73.73.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange poked up 1.38 points to 612.07
The 12 Toronto subgroups were evenly split as the day ended, with gold falling 2.7%, materials weaker by 1.6%, and utilities off 0.4%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by health-care, haler by 1%, information technology better by 0.8%, and financials were richer by 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 reached an all-time high on Monday, but the session’s gains were kept in check as investors braced for a busy week including a flurry of corporate earnings reports, economic data and an announcement from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials squeezed ahead 11.06 points to 26,554.39, as Goldman Sachs outperformed.
The S&P 500 eked up 3.15 points to 2,944.61, breaking the previous record high set in September. Financials led the gains in the S&P 500, climbing 0.9%. Bank of New York Mellon and Citigroup were among the best performers in the sector, rising about 2% each.
The NASDAQ Composite took on 15.45 to 8,161.85, also hitting an all-time high.
About 150 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to release their quarterly results this week, including Apple, General Electric and Qualcomm.
Alphabet and Western Digital will release their first-quarter numbers after the bell on Monday.
Spotify Technology posted a bigger-than-forecast loss, but its stock went up 2.4% as the company also said it reached 100 million subscribers for its premium service. Shares fell 0.1%.
So far, 231 companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results. Of those companies, 77.5% have topped analyst expectations. The reported earnings growth rate, meanwhile, is around 1%, well above the expected 4.2% drop.
The Federal Reserve is also set to hold a monetary policy meeting this week. Investors will be looking for clues about the central bank’s plan for its balance sheet moving forward, as well as hints on where Fed officials think the economy is headed.
Market expectations for a Fed rate hike are zero, while expectations for no change in the overnight rate are at 97%
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were sharply down, raising yields to 2.53% from Friday’s 2.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 30 cents to $63.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost seven dollars to $1,281.80 U.S. an ounce.
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