Stocks in Canada’s largest centre straddled the breakeven line Monday, as weakness in resource stocks overrode gains in communications and tech issues.
The TSX Composite Index waned 16.96 points to close Monday at 16,387.53
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.05 cents to 76.60 cents U.S.
Gold stocks took a beating on the day, with Torex Gold fading 72 cents, or 4.2% to $16.59, while Detour Gold dipped 66 cents, or 3.2%, to $19.70.
Materials pointed downward as well, as Pan American Silver dropped 98 cents, or 4.4%, to $21.21, while Silvercorp dumped 21 cents, or 3.9%, to $5.16.
Health-care stocks also tumbled, with Aurora Cannabis down 18 cents, or 3.6%, to $4.81, and Canopy Growth sliding 26 cents to $28.27.
Communications performed the best among the gaining subgroups, as Shaw headed higher 53 cents, or 2.1%, to $26.25, and Rogers bettered itself by 74 cents, or 1.2%, to $61.91.
Among financials, ECN Capital climbed 5.5 cents, or 1.3%, to $4.275, while Brookfield Asset Management gained $1.25, or 1.8%, to $71.60
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 5.51 points, or 1%, to 540.98
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups ventured into the red by the close, with gold sliding 1.9%, materials weakening 1.1%, and health-care down 0.5%.
The four gainers were communications, picking up 1%, information technology, up 0.8%, and financials, better by 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 hit a record high on Monday as investors cheered strong earnings and progress on U.S.-China trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 132.66 points to close Monday at 27,090.72
The broader S&P 500 gained 16.87 points to 3,039.42, above 3,027.98, the record set on July 26
After hitting that high over the summer, fears of an economic recession led to a sharp August selloff. That month, the S&P 500 dropped 1.8%. The index struggled through September but has rebounded strongly in October. It is now up more than 6% from that August low.
The NASDAQ Composite Index leaped 82.87 points, or 1%, to 8,325.99
Microsoft shares contributed to Monday’s gains, rising 2.5% on news the company won a $10-billion cloud contract from the Defense Department.
AT&T gained more than 4% after announcing a three-year plan that includes the addition of two new board members and the sale of up to $10 billion worth of non-core businesses in 2020. Alphabet climbed nearly 2% ahead of earnings.
Monday’s move to a record high extended the second-longest ever bull market to 3,885 days, by far the second-longest ever
President Donald Trump called in a tweet the move to record highs a “big win for jobs, 401-K’s, and, frankly, EVERYONE.”
Stocks have gotten a boost recently from better-than-expected earnings. Of the 206 S&P 500 companies that have reported, 78% have topped analyst expectations.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, AT&T and Spotify are among the companies that reported stronger-than-forecast profits on Monday. Walgreens and AT&T shares rose 1.5% and 3.3%, respectively. Spotify gained 10.7%.
Apple, UnitedHealth and J.P. Morgan Chase are among the stocks helping the S&P 500's bid to fresh record highs. Apple shares are up more than 10% in October amid optimism around iPhone 11 sales.
UnitedHealth has rallied 12.7% for the month through Friday’s close, while J.P. Morgan Chase has gained 7.1% amid expectations that interest rates have bottomed.
Tech and financials are the best-performing sectors month to date. They are up 3% and 2.2%, respectively, entering Monday’s session.
Monday’s moves come ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting later this week. The Fed is largely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, raising yields to 1.84% from Friday’s 1.8%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped 85 cents to $55.81 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices plummeted $10.10 to $1,495.20 U.S. an ounce.
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