Toronto stocks extended their selloff from last week, led by losses in utilities, while investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments on interest rate path later in the week.
The TSX dropped 48.68 points to pause for noon hour Monday at 19,769.71.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.06 cents to 73.78 cents U.S.
Restaurant Brands International gained 0.8% after J.P.Morgan initiated coverage on the stock with an "overweight" rating. Shares in the Tim Hortons parent rocketed $1.04, or 1.1%, to $94.12.
As mentioned, utilities were in rough shape, as shares in Boralex bowed nine cents to $32.89, while Hydro One doffed 43 cents, or 1.2%, to $36.30.
Investors will keep a close eye on the retail sales data for June on Wednesday to assess the strength of Canadian consumer spending against the backdrop of high interest rates.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that Canada is sending the military to tackle fast-spreading wildfires in British Columbia as the western province deals with flames that have led to evacuation orders for more than 35,000 people.
Earlier in the day, an industry official said Alberta's seven-month pause on approving new renewable power projects in the Canadian province has caused four major international companies at various development stages to stop work on their plans.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 1.29 points to 584.82.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday, weighed most by utilities, off 0.9%, real-estate, faltering 0.6%, and gold, off 0.3%.
The five gainers were led by information technology, jumping 0.7%, energy, rumbling 0.5%, and materials, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ rose Monday, as strong gains in tech helped Wall Street regain some of last week’s losses.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 178.61 points to stop for lunch Monday at 34,322.05.
The much-broader index dipped 0.88 points to 4,368.83.
The NASDAQ index managed to hang onto gains of 59.91 points to 13,350.69.
Tech was the best-performing S&P 500 sector, up 0.8%. Palo Alto Networks led the gains with a 15% jump after the cybersecurity company reported better-than-expected earnings Friday. The stock was also on pace for its biggest one-day pop in nearly two years.
Shares of Nvidia added 4.8% in Monday morning trading. Several technology names were also in the green, with Pinterest up 4.6%, Tesla trading higher by 5.9% and Facebook-parent Meta up 1.1%.
Those moves come after weekly declines on Wall Street, which added to the market’s late-summer slump. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ each fell for a third straight week, while the Dow had its biggest weekly decline since March.
Investors digested rising bond yields and weakness out of China that put a damper on markets during a typically lackluster season.
This week, investors are anticipating an address Friday morning from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the central bank’s annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dived, pushing yields up to 4.35% from Friday’s 4.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 37 cents to $81.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices collected a dollar to $1,917.50 U.S. an ounce.
