Energy stocks dragged equities in Canada’s largest market at the open on Monday, as oil prices tumbled after coronavirus-led restrictions in Europe triggered concerns of a slower fuel demand recovery.
The TSX cratered 170.57 points, or 1%, to begin Monday at 17,364.06.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.3 cents to 77.75 cents U.S.
Canada is halting passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, joining a growing list of countries barring British travelers to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus strain from the country.
Strike actions have effectively ended at a Canadian coal export terminal after the local union said it reached a tentative agreement with Westshore Terminals Investment Corp.
Westshore shares gained 19 cents, or 1.2%, to $15.84.
CIBC raises the rating on Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund to outperform from neutral. Chemtrade units stepped back three cents to $5.48.
CIBC cut the target price on Enghouse Systems to $84.00 from $98.00. Enghouse shares dropped $2.55, or 4.1%, to $59.31.
CIBC cut the rating on Superior Plus to neutral from outperform. Superior shares docked 37 cents, or 2.9%, to $12.04.
On the economic platform, Statistics Canada’s said new home buyers saw prices rise 0.6% in November at the national level, with prices up in 21 of the 27 census metropolitan areas surveyed.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 2.51 points to 818.71.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, with energy tumbling 2.2%, communications tailing off 1.9%, and consumer discretionary losing 1.3%.
The two gainers were gold, up 0.5%, and materials, inching up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Monday to start the holiday week as enthusiasm over a coronavirus stimulus deal was overwhelmed by worries over a viral new COVID strain in the U.K.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell back 329.87 points, or 1.1%, to 29,849.18. Dow-component Nike jumped more than 6% to hit a record high on the back of strong earnings.
The S&P 500 removed 67.41 points, or 1.8%, to 3,642. Tesla dropped as much as 6% as it entered the S&P 500 with a 1.69% weighting in the index, the fifth largest.
The NASDAQ slumped 204.44 points, or 1.8%, to 12,550.12.
Now with a stimulus agreed upon, investors may also be seeking to lock in profits after an unexpected banner year. With only two trading weeks left in 2020, the S&P 500 is up 13.6% for the year, while the 30-stock Dow has risen 5.2%. The NASDAQ has rallied 40.7% this year as investors favored high-growth technology companies.
Travel-related stocks came under pressure on news of an infectious new coronavirus strain in the U.K., which triggered more severe lockdowns and travel restrictions across Europe.
Norwegian and Royal Caribbean cruise lines shares each dropped more than 3%. American Airlines slid 5.2%, while United Airlines fell more than 4%. Shares of companies that would be hit by stricter lockdown measures fell, including Wynn Resorts and Gap.
The losses came even as lawmakers have reached an agreement on a $900-billion relief package, which would provide direct payments and jobless aid to struggling Americans. The announcement came after negotiators resolved a key sticking point by rolling back the Federal
Reserve’s emergency lending powers.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the media the stimulus money will go out as soon as next week.
Congress passed a one-day spending bill to avoid a government shutdown that would have started at 12:01 a.m. ET Monday. President Donald Trump signed the measure late Sunday evening, according to White House spokesman Judd Deere.
Lawmakers will vote on the relief and funding bill on Monday.
The major averages hit record highs recently amid optimism toward fresh coronavirus stimulus as well as the vaccine rollout. Moderna is shipping its first batch of vaccine doses after receiving approval for emergence use from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Meanwhile, the vaccines by Pfizer and BioNTech are being distributed to front-line health-care workers around the country.
On Friday, the Fed announced it will allow the nation’s big banks to resume share buybacks in the first quarter of 2021 subject to certain rules. JPMorgan shares were up almost 3%.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 0.93% from Friday’s 0.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sputtered $1.87 to $47.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $3.10 to $1,885.80.
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