Stocks in Toronto moved up and down the dial Monday, eventually settling slightly in the red as technology and industrials stocks proved to be anchors.
The TSX Composite index lost 23.47 points to conclude Monday to 20,164.96
The Canadian dollar squirted ahead 0.14 cents to 79.71 cents U.S.
Tech stocks proved the heaviest, as Shopify was trounced $85.92, or 4.2%, to $1,982.53, while Open Text Corporation dropped 63 cents, or 1%, to $63.91.
Industrials also had their troubles, with Aecon Group stumbling 42 cents, or 2.1%, to $20.10, while Westshore Terminals fell 63 cents, or 2.9%, to $21.30.
Utilities were losers as well, with Brookfield Renewable Partners units trailing Friday’s close by 84 cents, or 1.7%, to $47.59, while Innergex Renewable shares were 88 cents, or 1.8% to the bad, at $47.55.
Energy stocks tried to even things out, with Vermilion Energy climbing 32 cents, or 3.6%, to $9.10, while Crescent Point Energy moved ahead 15 cents, or 3.5%, to $4.41.
In resource stocks, Lithium Americas surged $1.12, or 6.9%, to $17.48, while Stelco Holdings popped $2.20, or 5.9%, to $39.43.
Equinox Gold added 50 cents, or 6.4%, to $8.35, while Eldorado Gold prospered 23 cents, or 2%, to $11.78.
Unifor said on Sunday about 900 workers had started strike action at global miner Rio Tinto's operations in British Columbia.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 3.69 points to 906.25.
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive, led by energy and materials, each jumping 1.4%, while gold brightened 1%.
The five laggards were weighed most of all by information technology, down 1.3%, industrials, off 0.7%, and utilities, falling 0.5%.
Health-care stocks were unchanged at the close.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 reached another record high on Monday ahead of a busy week of earnings reports from technology’s heaviest hitters.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 82.76 points to 35,075, to run its win streak to five.
The S&P 500 added 10.51 points to 4,422.30, also rising for a fifth straight day.
The NASDAQ gained 3.72 points to 14,840.71.
One of the busiest weeks of earnings reports is on deck, with Tesla kicking it off after the closing bell. Last week, CEO Elon Musk said the automaker would likely start accepting bitcoin for vehicle purchases again. Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose 2.2% Monday.
Big tech giants Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft are all set to report on Tuesday, and Google, Facebook, and Amazon will also report later in the week.
The second-quarter reporting season has been stronger than expected, providing a support for equities as they climb back into record-high territory. So far, 88% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive EPS surprise, according to FactSet. If 88% is the final percentage, it will mark the highest percentage since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2008.
Meanwhile, on the data front, sales of new U.S. single-family homes dropped unexpectedly in June, falling 6.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 units, the Commerce Department said on Monday. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected new home sales to increase to 795,000 units in June.
Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, beginning Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee and the Board of Governors are expected to issue a statement on the stance of monetary policy Wednesday. On Thursday, the Commerce Department will report second-quarter Gross Domestic Product data.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys were lower, raising yields to 1.30% from Friday’s 1.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices squeaked higher 10 cents to $72.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slouched $3.60 to $1,798.20 U.S. an ounce.
