Toronto stocks faltered on Monday hurt by rate-sensitive technology shares as U.S. Treasury yields edged up, while investors keenly await inflation data this week that could offer more insight into the Bank of Canada’s outlook for interest rates.
The TSX Composite Index doffed 171.68 points to move into noon hour EDT at 20,450.66.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.15 cents at 74.09 cents U.S.
Bank of Montreal on Saturday said it is winding down its indirect retail auto finance business and shifting focus to other areas in a move that will result in an unspecified number of job losses. Shares in “The First Canadian Bank” subsided $1.44, or 1.2%, to $118.94.
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada said its Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.3% month over month in August and fell 0.5% year over year. The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index increased 3.0% on a monthly basis in August and posted a 4.3% year-over-year decline.
Housing starts in Canada fell by 1% over a month earlier to 252,787 units in August 2023, above market expectations of 247,100 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.87 points to 587.91.
All 12 TSX subgroups remained negative midday, weighed most by health-care, down 2.4%, while information technology pointed downward 1.7%, and financials lost 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was little changed Monday as investors looked toward the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials reversed and added 66.32 points to power into lunch hour at 34,684.56.
The much-broader index gained 10.11 points to 4,460.43.
The NASDAQ index jumped 20.31 points to 13,728.65.
A rise in energy prices helped energy stocks in the session. The energy sector of the S&P 500 advanced around 1%, led by Marathon Petroleum and Valero.
Meanwhile, Ford and Stellantis slid more than 1% as the United Auto Workers strike continued. General Motors, the other automaker facing off with the union, shed around 0.7%.
Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney said Tesla earnings could take a hit from slimmer margins. Shares slipped about 2.5% in Monday’s session.
Traders are assigning a 99% chance that the Fed stays put when it releases its rate decision on Wednesday and just a 31% probability of a hike in November, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which gauges pricing in the fed funds futures market.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury regained lost strength, lowering yields to Friday’s 4.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices strengthened $1.20 to $91.97 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surged $3.30 to $1,949.50 U.S. an ounce.