Equities in Canada’s largest market began the week slightly higher on Monday dragged down by materials stocks, while investor concerns about further rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve further weighed on sentiment.
The TSX crept up 16.48 points to open Monday at 20,213.17.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.18 cents to 74.14 cents U.S.
Teck Resources said Glencore's bid for it was "not actionable and bad" for shareholders, while recommending that they vote for its own restructuring plan instead. Teck shares slumped in Monday’s first hour by $1.58, or 2.7%, to $57.69.
Entrepreneur Pierre Lassonde said he was planning to buy a blocking stake in Elk Valley Resources, the steel-making coal unit to be spun off by Teck, as per a report over the weekend.
Brokerage Scotiabank upgraded Kelt Exploration to "sector outperform" from "sector perform". Kelt shares galloped 30 cents, or 6.4%, to $5.02.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange sagged 3.06 points to 622.79.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower to begin the week, with gold dumping 1.1%, while information technology fell 0.9%, and real-estate ditched 0.7%.
The five gainers proved to be health-care and energy, each up 1.4%, and financials, ahead 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 fell Monday as fears of a recession grew on Wall Street, and investors looked ahead to key inflation data this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials sank 43.15 to 33,442.14.
The broader index fell 25.68 points to 4,079.34.
The NASDAQ tumbled 127.99 points, or 1.1%, to 11,959.97.
Tech stocks struggled, with shares of Apple falling 1.9% and Google-parent Alphabet sliding 1.7%. Tesla shares fell 3.6% after the company said it will cut prices again on some electric vehicles.
They’ll also get the first batch of companies reporting first-quarter financial results. Tilray Brands kicks things off Monday. The major banks – JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup – will report on Friday.
Markets are coming off a choppy week as investors digested signs of a weakening labor market. However, the March jobs report on Friday showed a resilient economy and moderate inflation, which pushed stock futures and Treasury yields higher. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for Good Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 236,000 for the month, about in line with the Dow Jones estimate of 238,000, the Labor Department reported. The unemployment fell to 3.5%, against expectations that it would hold from the previous month at 3.6%.
Investors are in for a busy week of economic data, including the latest consumer price index and producer price index data – due out Wednesday and Thursday, respectively – which will be key in determining if or when the Fed will pause or put an end to its rate hiking campaign.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury clambered lower, lifting yields to 3.43% from Thursday 3.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 11 cents to $80.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices declined $22.80 to $2,003.60 U.S. an ounce.
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