Canada’s main stock index fell to a low not seen in more than three weeks on Monday, as investors worldwide shied away from risky assets following last week’s strong US jobs data, which soured hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year. Canadian investors are anxious about whether US President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20th, will follow through with his plan to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Ottawa. The telecom sector was the only one to see growth on the TSX.
US stocks were mixed as key tech shares, which have driven the bull market, continued to be sold off by investors. There is hope that the start of the Q4 earnings season will stabilize the markets. Major banks are set to report their quarterly earnings this week. The wildfires in California continue to burn, with costs estimated to reach well over US$50 billion.
The Canadian dollar traded for 69.45 cents US compared to 69.30 cents US on Friday.
US crude futures traded US$2.06 higher at US$78.65 a barrel, and the Brent contract rose US$1.06 to US$80.82 a barrel.
The price of gold was down US$27.43 to US$2,661.91.
In world markets, the Nikkei remained at 39,190.40, the Hang Seng was down 190.15 points to 18,874.14, the FTSE was down 24.30 points to 8,224.19, and the DAX was down 81.94 points to 20,132.85.
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(Top image generated with AI.)