Equities in Canada’s largest market stopped trading at one-month lows on Monday, weighed by lower oil prices, as investors turned their attention to a federal election where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could cling to power although he looked set to lose his bid for a majority.
The TSX Composite plunged 335.82 points, or 1.6%, to close Monday at 20,154.54 off its lows of the day.
The Canadian dollar slouched 0.28 cents to 78.05 cents U.S.
All signs pointed downward on the index, with health-care issues such as Aurora Cannabis handing back 63 cents, or 7.5%, to $7.82, while Tilray slid $1.13, or 7.3%, to $$14.32.
Energy stocks also took their lumps, with Enerplus down 45 cents, or 5.5%, to $7.71, while MEG Energy swooned 43 cents, or 5.1%, to $8.06
In tech concerns, Hut 8 Mining was pounded $1.141, or 12.3%, to $10.04, while BlackBerry sank 74 cents, or 5.8%, to $12.08.
Trudeau may cling to power in Monday’s election but looks set to lose his bid for a parliamentary majority after a tough campaign that dashed his hopes for a convincing win.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 32.94 points, or 3.7%, to 853.89
All 12 TSX sectors were lower on the day, with health-care ailing 4.5%, energy off 3.3%, and materials sinking 2.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks began the week deeply in the red as investors continued to flock to the sidelines in September amid several emerging risks for the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 614.35 points, or 1.8%, to 33,970.53, for its biggest one day drop since July 19.
The S&P 500 suffered 75.26 points, or 1.7%, to 4,357.74, posting its worst daily performance since May 12.
The NASDAQ Composite withered 330.06 points, or 2.2%, to 14,713.90, staging something of a comeback from an earlier gully.
COVID cases proved a factor because of the Delta variant remain at January levels as colder weather approaches in North America.
September has the worst track record of any month, averaging a 0.4% decline, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. History shows the selling tends to pick up in the back half of the month.
Monday’s selloff briefly pushed the S&P 500 5% below its last record on an intraday basis. It’s been a long time since the market has faced a selloff of this magnitude as investors continued to buy the dip with fiscal and monetary stimulus backstopping the markets. The index closed the session 4.1% below its record high from September 2.
Investors are also concerned about brinkmanship in D.C. as the deadline to raise the debt ceiling approaches. Congress returned to Washington from recess rushing to pass funding bills to avoid a government shutdown.
Big bank stocks took a hit as the falling rates may crimp profits. Bank of America faded 3.4%, and JPMorgan Chase dropped 3%.
Stocks linked to global growth led the broad-based selloff Monday. Ford lost more than 5%. General Motors reversed 3.8%, and Boeing fell 1.8%.. Steel producer Nucor shed 7.6%
Energy stocks tumbled as APA shed more than 6%, while Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy both dropped over 5%.
Meanwhile, airline stocks jumped higher in unison after news that the U.S. will ease travel restrictions for foreign visitors who are vaccinated against COVID. American Airlines rose 2%, while United and Delta both traded about 1% higher.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys subsided, raising yields to 1.32% from Friday’s 1.30%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.13 to $70.84 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $13.40 to $1,764.80 U.S. an ounce.