Stocks in Toronto found it hard to gain traction on Monday, as collapses in health-care stocks overwhelmed gains in the tech and gold fields.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed negative 79.04 points to close Monday at 16,462,95
The Canadian dollar wilted 0.10 cents to 76.36 cents U.S.
CannTrust Holdings fell $1.44, or 22.3%, the most on the TSX, to $5.02, after Health Canada found the cannabis producer's greenhouse facility in Ontario to be non-compliant with some regulations.
HEXO Corp. gave back 16 cents, or 2.4%, to $6.65.
In the communications field, Shaw demurred 33 cents, or 1.2%, to $26.56, while BCE dropped 46 cents to $59.99
Industrials also moved lower, as SNC-Lavalin got bruised $1.61, or 6.1% to $24.99, while Bombardier faded six cents, or 2.6%, to $2.22.
Techs tried to put a positive spin on things, as Shopify, which rose $13.81, or 3.4%, to $424.49, while Quarterhill gained two cents, or 1.3%, to $1.62.
Among golds, Endeavour Mining climbed 24 cents, or 1.1%, to $21.73, while Kinross Gold took on four cents to $5.05.
In utilities, Brookfield Infrastracture Partners LP gained 42 cents to $57.73, while Transalta Renewables added seven cents to $14.10.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.25 points to 588.03
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, as health-care dwindled 1.8%, communications lost 0.7%, and industrials moved 0.5%, lower
The four gainers were led by information technology, advancing 0.8%, while gold improved 0.5%, and utilities strengthened 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Monday as losses in Apple shares pressured the broader tech sector. Investors also braced for key testimony from the top Federal Reserve official later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dumped 115.98 points to close the day at 26,806.14
The S&P 500 subtracted 14.46 points to 2,975.95
The NASDAQ Composite deducted 63.41 points to 8,098.38
Apple shares fell more than 2% after an analyst at Rosenblatt Securities downgraded them to sell from neutral. The analyst said the stock will “face fundamental deterioration over the next six to 12 months”, as Apple’s iPhone sales disappoint and growth in other products slows down.
Other tech shares like NetApp and Juniper Networks fell more than 3% each. Applied Materials and Lam Research both declined more than 1%.
Tech has been a stalwart on Wall Street this year. The sector is up nearly 28% in 2019 and is outperforming the S&P 500 by about seven percentage points.
In corporate news, Deutsche Bank announced Sunday it will close off its global equities trading business and slash 18,000 jobs as part of a massive restructuring effort to improve the bank’s profitability. The company’s U.S.-listed shares dropped more than 5%
Wall Street also looked ahead to testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. Powell’s testimony comes after a stronger-than-expected jobs report raised questions about whether the Fed will cut rates later this month.
The Fed opened the door for lower rates last month after saying it will "act as appropriate" to maintain the current U.S. economic expansion, which is the longest ever.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury waned slightly, raising yields to 2.05%, from Friday’s 2.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped two cents to $57.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slumped $5.60 to $1,394.50 U.S. an ounce.
