Canada's benchmark stock index was muted on Monday, with materials and energy stocks weighing on the commodity-heavy bourse after top-consumer China set a modest growth target for the year, while gains in Ritchie Brothers limited the declines.
The TSX fell back 5.22 points, to move into noon hour EST at 20,576.36
The Canadian dollar slid 0.04 cents to 73.45 cents U.S.
Ritchie shares rose $2.95, or 3.7%, to $83.25, as two leading proxy advisory firms recommended that shareholders vote against the asset management firm's planned takeover of U.S. auto retailer IAA Inc, whose shares fell 8.5% in U.S. trading.
Secure Energy Services slumped $1.64, or 19.5% to $6.79, its two-month low after it said it would appeal the competition tribunal's decision on its merger with Tervita Corp.
On the economic calendar, the IVEY PMI subsided to 51.6 in February from January's 60.1, and much lower than the 63.6 level in February 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.51 points, to 640.47.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, with consumer discretionary taking on 0.5%, financials up 0.4%, and communications perking 0.3%
The five laggards were weighed most by materials, sliding 1.1%, gold, dulling 0.9%, and energy, 0.8% less energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks rose Monday, building on last week’s gains as investors scooped up battered technology shares, and interest rates stabilized.
The Dow Jones Industrials rose sharply 101.68 points to pause for noon at 33,492.65.
The S&P 500 gained 23.92 points to 4,069.56.
The NASDAQ Composite jumped 111.42 points to 11,800.47.
Apple led the tech sector’s gains, jumping more than 3% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a buy rating. The iPhone maker accounts for about 7% of the S&P. Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Netflix also gained about 2% each, boosting the tech-heavy index.
Shares of Micron Technology and Arista Networks added about 2% each, while Apple gained 3%. Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Netflix and Microsoft also rose about 2%.
Materials was the worst-performing sector, falling more than 1%. Declines in shares of International Paper, Dow and Mosaic contributed to those losses.
Traders are coming off a positive week for the major averages. The Dow added 1.8% last week, ending a four-week losing streak. The S&P 500 advanced 1.9%, while the NASDAQ capped the week with a 2.6% pop.
Factory orders slipped less than expected in January, according to data released Monday morning.
Net orders fell 1.6% from December, a small drop than the 1.8% slide expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Traders also await the February jobs report on Friday, after January’s blockbuster report showed the economy added 517,000 payrolls. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting 225,000 jobs added last month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 3.97% from Friday’s 3.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 33 cents to $80.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $2.20 to $1,856.80 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
