Stocks in Canada’s largest centre continued to trade lower on Monday on persisting worries over the economic damage from coronavirus pandemic, although gains in energy stocks after major oil producers agreed to output cuts limited losses.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed negative 141.36 points, or just over 1%, to 14,025.27.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.1 cents to 71.60 cents U.S.
Markets in North America were closed Friday for Good Friday.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Baytex Energy, which jumped half a cent, or 1.3%, to 40.5 cents, and Shopify, which galloped $28.28, or 4.8%, to $613.00.
Aurora Cannabis fell 17 cents, or 13.9%, the most on the TSX, to $1.05, while the second biggest decliner was Brookfield Property Partners, which fell 81 cents, or 5.6%, to $13.63, after Canaccord Genuity cut its price target on stock by 35% to $13.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.09 points to 425.06
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red by noon hour EDT, with real-estate down 3.8%, consumer discretionary stocks sliding 3.5%, and health-care off 3.2%.
The four gainers were led by gold, up 3.3%, materials, headed north 2.6%, and information technology eking up 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Monday, giving back some of the sharp gains from the previous week, as investors continued to weigh the coronavirus outlook along with a historic oil production cut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average faltered 458.43 points, or 1.9%, to 23,260.94
The S&P 500 retreated 46.95 points, or 1.7%, to 2,743.71.
The NASDAQ Composite flopped 49.75 points to 8,103.82
Caterpillar was the worst-performing stock in the Dow, falling more than 8%. The stock was pushed lower by a downgrade from a Bank of America analyst. Financials and real estate led the S&P 500 lower, with both sectors trading more than 3.5% lower.
Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America are among the companies scheduled to report earnings this week. Several companies have removed their earnings guidance, citing the coronavirus outbreak, while others have slashed their profit forecasts.
The U.S. stock market had one of its biggest weekly gains ever last week. The Dow posted its seventh-best weekly performance, rallying 12.7%. The S&P 500 had its biggest one-week gain since 1974, jumping 12.1%.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday he was cautiously optimistic that the outbreak was slowing down in the U.S. He also said parts of the country may start to reopen next month.
However, Fauci added this does not mean the entire country would flip a “light switch” and go back to normal.
Confirmed cases in the U.S. now total nearly 550,000, more than any other country in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. New York State accounts for more than 189,000 of those cases. The death count in the U.S. from the virus is more than 21,000.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury were higher, dropping yields to Thursday’s 0.73%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 23 cents to $22.99 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.80 to $1,757.60 U.S. an ounce.
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