Resource and health-care stocks led the way down in Toronto Monday, as the TSX had trouble maintaining its upward readings of the week before.
The TSX subsided 66.78 points to conclude Monday at 20,514.80
The Canadian dollar let go of 0.05 cents to 73.44 cents U.S.
Among health-care plays, Bausch dropped 43 cents, or 3.5%, to $12.03, while Tilray gave back 12 cents, or 3.2%, to $3.67.
Metal firms also took their lumps, as Algoma Steel docked 60 cents, or 4.9%, to $11.74, while Capstone Mining lost 33 cents, or 4.8%, to $6.62.
Gold also had its troubles, as Iamgold fell 11 cents, or 3.4%, to $3.11, while B2Gold ailed 10 cents, or 2.1%, to $4.75.
Utilities tried to right the ship, with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners rising 87 cents, or 1.9%, to $46.65, while Transalta squeezed out gains of 19 cents, or 1.7%, to $1.767.
In communications, TELUS hiked 14 cents to $27.45, while BCE gained 19 cents to $60.69.
Consumer staples moved doggedly ahead, with George Weston taking on $2.15, or 1.3%, to $169.21, while Loblaw Companies forged ahead 78 cents to $117.58.
On the economic calendar, the IVEY PMI subsided to 51.6 in February from January’s 60.1, and much lower than the 63.6 level in February 2022.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 5.22 points, to 637.76.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive midday, with consumer discretionary taking on 0.5%, financials up 0.4%, and communications perking 0.3%
The five laggards were weighed most by materials, sliding 1.1%, gold, dulling 0.9%, and energy, 0.8% less energetic.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrials rose slightly Monday, as Wall Street fought to hold onto last week’s gains and investors braced for a busy week of economic news.
The 30-stock index rose 40.08 points, off its highs of the day, to close Monday at 33,431.05.
The S&P 500 eked past the breakeven point 2.78 points to 4,048.42.
The NASDAQ Composite sank 13.27 points to 11,675.74. Despite these moves, some tech stocks pushed higher. Apple led the sector’s gains, jumping about 2% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a buy rating. The iPhone maker accounts for about 7% of the S&P. Alphabet and Microsoft also gained about 1% each.
Merck & Co. advanced 3.7% following the approval of a new way to administer some of its vaccines.
The Food and Drug Administration approved a new intra-muscular way to administer Merck’s family of vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella, the health-care company said Monday. These vaccines, which include M-M-R II, Varivax and ProQuad, had previously only been administered through the skin.
Apple shares gained more than 2.5% in Monday’s session following a bullish call from Goldman Sachs.
The Wall Street firm initiated coverage of the big technology stock as a buy. The bank’s price target implies the stock could rally more than 30%, which it tied in part to growing strength in its services and subscription offerings.
Factory orders slipped less than expected in January, according to data released Monday morning.
Net orders fell 1.6% from December, a small drop than the 1.8% slide expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Traders also await the February jobs report on Friday, after January’s blockbuster report showed the economy added 517,000 payrolls. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting 225,000 jobs added last month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell a mite, raising yields to 3.98% from Friday’s 3.96%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 89 cents to $80.87 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $2.40 to $1,852.40 U.S. an ounce.