Equities in Toronto lurched lower midday Monday as materials shares fell, dragged down by precious metal prices, while data showed contraction in Canada’s factory activity deepened in September.
The TSX Composite dwindled 261.06, or 1.3%, as morning became afternoon, to 19,280.26.
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.46 cents at 73.34 cents U.S.
Laurentian Bank named insider Eric Provost as CEO, weeks after announcing it would simplify its organizational structure after it failed to find a buyer during a strategic review. Laurentian shares plummeted $1.39, or 4.6%, to $28.88.
On the economic slate, the Markit Canada Manufacturing PMI fell further below the crucial 50.0 no-change mark in September to 47.5, from 48.0 in August. It was the fifth successive month that a deterioration in operating conditions has been registered, and the latest PMI number was the lowest since May 2020.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 11.6 points, or 2.1%, to 547.28.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower, with gold and utilities each down 2.8%, and materials off 2.6%
The two gainers were consumer staples, up 0.6%, and information technology, poking ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were lower Monday even after U.S. legislators were able to come to a short-term agreement that staved off a government shutdown.
The Dow Jones Industrials stayed in the red, but climbed to within 27.93 points of breakeven to 33,497.57.
The S&P 500 index found its way upward 5.34 points to 4,293.39.
The NASDAQ index gained 112.19 points to 13,333.29.
September marked the worst monthly performance of the year for the S&P 500 and NASDAQ The three major averages all finished the quarter in the red.
Discover was the S&P 500’s top gainer Monday morning, with shares up 6.6%. Semiconductor company Nvidia took on 5.5% and insulin pump maker Insulet surged 3.2%. Cryptocurrency-related stock Coinbase added 2.2%, while Marathon Digital advanced 6.2% as crypto prices rallied.
The communications services and technology sectors were the only positive industries in the broad market index. Communication services added 1.2%, while the tech sector traded 1% higher.
The Senate passed a continuing resolution with just hours to spare before a midnight deadline Saturday, which was then signed by President Joe Biden into law. The bill keeps the government open through mid-November, an extended period that lawmakers can use to finalize funding legislation.
The initial reaction to the shutdown deal was positive with equity futures in the green for most of Sunday evening into Monday. But futures fell into the red before markets officially opened as investors turned their focus back to surging interest rates near 15-year highs.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were woozy, raising yields to 4.69% from Friday’s 4.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.87 to $88.92 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $17.60 to $1,848.50.