TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index fell almost one per cent Monday, weighed down by losses in energy, technology and utilities,while U.S. markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 231.41 points at 24,536.32.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 358.67 points at 42,297.12. The S&P 500 index was up 9.18 points at 5,836.22, while the Nasdaq composite was down 73.53 points at 19,088.10.
Big tech companies led the way down on the Nasdaq, with Nvidia down two per cent, while gains for oil and gas producers helped boost other areas of the U.S. market.
“Markets are just absorbing a few pieces of news,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
“It’s been a bit of a volatile day.”
Friday saw a stronger than expected U.S. jobs report, signalling the continued strength of the economy despite higher interest rates.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has already narrowed its forecast for rate cuts in 2025, but if the data continues to come in strong, it could cut even less than the two reductions it predicted for the year, said Chopra.
Markets currently expect the Fed to hold rates at its meeting later this month.
Wednesday will bring data on U.S. inflation as well as the start of earnings season with major U.S. banks beginning to report their financial results, said Chopra. All this will help investors fill in the economic picture, he said.
“Those are big pieces of information that have an impact on long-term interest rates (and) short-term interest rates,” he said.
Economists currently expect inflation to have picked up in December to 2.8 per cent.
In Canada, investors continue to grapple with the uncertainty of Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration and the tariffs he’s threatened as well as a leadership vacuum after the resignation announcement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said Chopra.
“The economy here is slowing compared to the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.39 cents UScompared with 69.34 cents US on Friday.
One bright spot on the Canadian market lately has been an increase in the price of oil, Chopra noted, attributing it to wider U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.
But despite oil prices continuing to rise Monday, the energy index on the TSX fell 1.8 per cent.
The March crude oil contract was up US$1.55 at US$77.30 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down six cents at US$3.93 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down US$36.40 at US$2,678.60 an ounceand the March copper contract was up three cents at US$4.33 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
