Equities in Toronto finished Monday, the penultimate session of January, on the downside, as losses in health-care cast a shadow over markets.
The TSX fell 142.37 points to close Monday at 20,572.11.
The Canadian dollar let go of 0.45 cents at 74.70 cents U.S.
Health-care took the worst pounding, as Bausch Health lost 75 cents, or 6.7%, to $10.40, while Tilray handed over 14 cents, or 3.3%, to $4.14.
In energy, Peyto Exploration wilted 79 cents, or 6.1%, to $12.23, while Nuvista dipped 52 cents, or 4.4%, to $11.19.
Tech stocks also felt around for the bruises, mostly Quarterhill, down 10 cents, or 5.2%, to $1.84, while Shopify suffered $3.15, or 4.7%, to $63.51.
Industrial stocks such as Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, progressed $1.22, or 1.6%, to $79.67. Brookfield Business Partners gained 31 cents, or 1.1%, to $27.88.
Communications also made gains, primarily BCE, up 52 cents to $62.84 while Cogeco Communications added 47 cents to $69.26.
Among individual stocks, Fairfax Financial Holdings climbed $15.96, or 1.9%, to $867.26 after BMO raised the insurer’s rating to “outperform” from “market perform”.
Markets will be on the lookout for Canadian GDP data due Tuesday, which will follow a 25-basis-point rate hike last week from the Bank of Canada, which became the first major central bank to say it would likely hold off on further increases for now.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 4.42 points to 617.59.
All but two of the 12 subgroups were lower, with health-care weakening 3.1%, while energy sank 1.9%, and information technology gave back 1.7%.
The lone gainers were industrials and communications, each ahead a mere 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 traded lower Monday amid a January rally as investors braced for the busiest week of earnings season and a possible interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials cratered 260.99 points to close at 33,717.09.
The S&P 500 faltered 52.79 points, or 1.3%, to 4,017.77.
Still, the S&P 500 is headed for its best January since 2019 when it gained nearly 8%. As of Monday morning, the broader market index is up 5.2% for 2023 following a 19% loss last year.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 227.9 points, or 2%, to 11,393.81.
Ford shares fell more than 1% after the automaker said it’s cutting prices and ramping up production on its electric Mustang Mach-E crossover, following a similar announcement from Tesla.
Still, the S&P 500 is headed for its best January since 2019 when it gained nearly 8%. As of Monday morning, the broader market index is up 5.2% for 2023 following a 19% loss last year.
However, there are several tests this week for the 2023 rally. About 20% of the S&P 500 will report earnings this week, including McDonald’s and General Motors on Tuesday followed by tech giants Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon and Alphabet later in the week.
The Federal Open Market Committee meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Fed is expected to hike rates by one-quarter of a percentage point. Investors will be looking for clues about how much higher the central bank will take rates in the fight against inflation.
Traders have pushed stocks higher this year in part because of softer inflation reports, which they suspect could cause the Fed to soon pause its hiking campaign.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell slightly, raising yields to 3.55% from Friday’s 3.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dumped $1.82 to $77.86 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices doffed $7.70 to $1,921.700.40 U.S. an ounce.