Canada’s main stock index fell on Monday, hurt by mining stocks, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later in a day to get clues on U.S. policy outlook.
The TSX Composite Index fell 78.4 points to open Monday at 23,878.42.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.02 cents to 74 cents U.S.
As all eyes were on Jerome Powell’s comments near 2 p.m. ET, economists have said a mistake in setting interest rates during the last phase of Fed’s inflation battle could impair the country’s economy over the next year.
In corporate news, the Toronto-Dominion Bank is nearing a possible guilty plea on criminal charges that its U.S. unit failed to curb money laundering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The lending giant began the week off 29 cents to $85.39.
International Petroleum was among the worst hit, down 55 cents, or 3.3%, to $16.04, while First Majestic Silver gave up 52 cents, or 2.7%, to $18.43, and Aya Gold & Silver sank 96 cents, or 5.3%, to $17.32.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 6.34 points Monday to 576.80.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were in lower country, with gold slumping 1.9%, materials losing 1.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks down 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by health-care, up 1%, energy, 0.6% more energetic, and real-estate, 0.4% more solid.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks sat near flat on Monday, the final trading session of what’s shaping up to be a winning month and quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.49 points by noon ET to 42,203.51
The S&P 500 index regrouped 40 points to 5,738.578
The NASDAQ Composite regained 9.47 points to 18,129.06.
Month to date, the Dow has tacked on 1.7% and the S&P 500 is up 1.5%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ has advanced 2.2% in September.
The Dow has led the way this quarter, climbing more than 8%. The S&P 500 is ahead 5% and the NASDAQ has added 2%, since July began.
Nvidia is on track to notch its first losing quarter since 2022, underscoring the changing views on mega-cap technology after capturing investor attention for more than a year.
Looking ahead, October has a troubling history for markets. It’s known as a time of extreme volatility with some of the more notable Wall Street drawdowns occurring during the month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged to raise yields to 3.78% from Friday’s 3.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 90 cents at $69.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices flopped $13.00 to $2,655.10 U.S. an ounce
