Canada's main stock index futures sank on Monday as oil prices fell 4% on rising demand worries following a rise in coronavirus cases outside China.
The TSX Composite Index slumped 100.53 points from Thursday’s all-time high to end Friday at 17,843.53. The index was down slightly on the week
The Canadian dollar faded 0.19 cents early Friday at 75.43 cents U.S.
March futures slumped 1.5% early Monday.
RBC cut the target price on CCL Industries to $61.00 from $69.00
RBC raised the target price on George Weston to $129.00 from $127.00
CIBC cut the target price on Teck Resources to $34.00 from $39.00
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that wholesale trade ended its two-month losing streak, picking up 0.9% to $63.9 billion in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked forward 1.37 points Friday to 582.55. The index gained 2.1% on the week.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures pointed to sharp declines on Wall Street at the open on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown from the virus spreading
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 758 points, or 2.6%, early Monday to 28,223.
Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 81.25 points, or 2.4%, at 3,258.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite collapsed 250.5 points, on 2.7%, to 9,207.50.
Futures pointed to the biggest one-day point drop for the Dow since August, when the 30-stock average slid 800 points.
Airline stocks Delta and American were both down more than 4% in the pre-market while United traded 2.6% lower. Shares of casino operators Las Vegas Sands, and Wynn Resorts dropped more than 3% each. MGM Resorts slid 6.7%.
Chipmakers were also down broadly before the bell. Nvidia shares were down more than 6% while Dow-component Intel traded 3.5% lower. AMD dipped 7.2%.
Apple and its suppliers took a hit in the pre-market as well. Shares of the iPhone maker were down by 4.6%. Skyworks Solutions dropped 5% and Qorvo declined 3.8%.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett said the coronavirus spread has softened up the U.S. economy, but noted it its still healthy. “Business is down but it’s down from a very good level,” Buffett told the media Monday morning.
"You look at car holdings — railcar holdings, moving goods around. And there again, that was affected by the tariffs too because people front-ended purchases, all kinds of things.” Buffett added he still recommends buying stocks.
Monday’s moves came as investors watch developments surrounding the coronavirus outbreak that was first reported in China, but has spread rapidly in other countries especially South Korea and Italy, which reported a spike in the number of confirmed cases in recent days.
South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the "highest level" over the weekend, with the latest spike in numbers bringing the total infected to more than 750 — making it the country with the most cases outside mainland China.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was pummeled 1.8%, while Japanese markets were shuttered for holiday.
Oil prices removed two dollars to $51.38 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $29.20 to $1,678 U.S. an ounce.
