Equities in Canada's largest market took time out from several consecutive days of record-setting gains, and actually fell in Monday trading.
The TSX shed 26.75 points to close Monday at 19,201.28.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.2 cents at 79.59 cents U.S.
Cannabis interest hurtled earthward Monday, as Aphria took it on the chin $2.85, or 14%, to $17.51, while Cronos Group stumbled 85 cents, or 7.7%, to $10.26.
Among gold issues, Alamos Gold lost 39 cents, or 3.7%, to $10.11, while Equinox Gold dipped 33 cents, or 3%, to $10.64.
Among other resource plays, First Quantum Minerals moved backward $1.85, or 6.7%, to $25.95, while HudBay Minerals slipped 65 cents, or 6.6%, to $9.23.
In the financial field, Manulife jumped 46 cents, or 1.6%, to $27.48, while IGM Financial soared 49 cents, or 1.3%, to $39.82.
Consumer stocks prospered, as Canadian Tire leaped $2.85, or 1.6%, to $186.30, while BRP acquired $1.42, or 1.6%, to $113.80.
In the tech field, CGI gained $2.92, or 2.8%, to $108.28, while Constellation Software moved ahead $37.08, or 2%, to $1,916.19.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 17.64 points, or 1.8%, to 941.71.
The 12 TSX subgroups were divided between gainers and losers, financials and consumer discretionary stocks each picking up 0.7% to head the former category, while information technology advanced 0.4%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed forcefully down by health-care, ailing 5.5%, while gold and materials each shied away 1.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks hovered near their record levels on Monday as dull trading resumed before the release of widely-watched inflation data and the start of first-quarter corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials let go of 55.2 points to 33,765.48. Intel was the biggest decliner in the blue-chip Dow, dropping more than 4%.
The S&P 500 inched back 0.81 points to 4,127.99.
The NASDAQ Composite docked 50.19 points to 13,850.
Shares of Nuance Communications jumped nearly 16% after Microsoft announced it will buy the speech recognition company in a $16-billion deal. The Nuance acquisition represents Microsoft’s largest acquisition since it bought LinkedIn for more than $26 billion in 2016.
Nvidia jumped 5.6% after the chip giant said it first quarter revenue for fiscal 2022 is tracking above its previously provided outlook and that it expects demand to continue to exceed supply for much of this year.
The weakness in reopening plays weighed on the overall market with shares of Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line off more than 4% each.
United Airlines fell 3.9% after the carrier said its first-quarter revenue is expected to fall 66% compared with the same period in 2019. The new guidance fell near the top of the range between 65% and 70% that the company had previously forecast.
The first-quarter earnings reporting season begins this week, with expectations set for broadly positive news and an uptrend for U.S. equities thanks to a recovering economy. Many of the nation’s largest banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase will this week report results for the three months ended March 31.
Tesla gained 3.7% to above $700 Monday after Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to buy and raised its price target to $1,071, citing its battery innovations.
The coming week is also packed with Federal Reserve speeches and key economic data including a hotly anticipated inflation reading Tuesday, when the U.S. consumer price index is released.
The central bank’s chairman, Jerome Powell, kicked off the week of multiple Fed appearances with an interview that aired Sunday evening on CBS News’ "60 Minutes."
During the interview, Powell reiterated that the Fed wants to see inflation rise above its 2% for an extended period before officials move to raise interest rates.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys fell, raising yields to 1.67% from Friday’s 1.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 30 cents to $59.72 U.S. a barrel.
Gold dropped $12.70 to $1,732.10 U.S. an ounce.
