Canada's main stock index opened substantially lower on Monday as health-care and technology stocks declined, while investors keenly await inflation data this week that could offer more insight into the Bank of Canada's outlook for interest rates.
The TSX Composite Index waved goodbye to 130.5 points to begin the week at 20,491.84.
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.1 cents at 74.04 cents U.S.
Bank of Montreal on Saturday said it is winding down its indirect retail auto finance business and shifting focus to other areas in a move that will result in an unspecified number of job losses. Shares in “The First Canadian Bank” subsided 84 cents to $$119.54.
On the economic schedule, Statistics Canada said its Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.3% month over month in August and fell 0.5% year over year. The agency’s Raw Materials Price Index increased 3.0% on a monthly basis in August and posted a 4.3% year-over-year decline.
Housing starts in Canada fell by 1% over a month earlier to 252,787 units in August 2023, above market expectations of 247,100 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 4.18 points to 586.60.
All 12 TSX subgroups dropped into the red in the first hour, weighed most by health-care, down 2%, while materials and real-estate each lost 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 was little changed Monday as investors looked toward the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 32.06 points to open Monday and the week at 34,586.18.
The S&P 500 index gained 3.08 points to 4,453.40.
The NASDAQ index tallied 22.48 points to 13,730.81.
Clorox shares slumped 1% after the company warned that a cyberattack in August will weigh on its fiscal first-quarter results.
The company known for household items such as bleach said that the attacks resulted in product outages and delays that have impacted operations.
Traders are assigning a 99% chance that the Fed stays put when it releases its rate decision on Wednesday and just a 31% probability of a hike in November, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which gauges pricing in the fed funds futures market.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dipped, raising yields to 4.34% from Friday’s 4.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices strengthened 74 cents to $91.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $2.20 to $1,944.00 U.S. an ounce.
