Stocks Fail to Rise to Stimulus of Trade Deal
Equities in Canada’s biggest market were little changed Monday, as much of the excitement from the weekend’s trade deal between the United States and European Union faded.
The TSX Composite Index unloaded 88.93 points by the end of the session at 27,405.42.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.02 cents at 72.79 cents U.S.
Gold and other resource stocks took a pounding, as New Gold lost 36 cents, or 6%, to $5.69, while Torex Gold Resources backed off $1.60, or 3.7%, to $41.25.
In materials, Orla Mining doffed 61 cents, or 4.3%, to $13.68, while G Mining Ventures ditched 71 cents, or 4.1%, to $16.78.
In telecoms, Quebecor suffered $1.31, or 3.2%, to $39.42, while TELUS fell 29 cents, or 1.3%, to $22.30.
Energy tried to even things out, with Baytex Energy surging 14 cents, or 4.9%, to $2.98, while Cenovus Energy improved 75 cents, or 3.8%, to $20.60.
In tech issues, Dye & Durham gained 34 cents, or 3.9%, to $9.15, while Shopify poked ahead $3.54, or 2.1%, to $174.16.
The U.S. struck a framework trade agreement with the EU on Sunday, imposing a 15% tariff on most EU goods and requiring the bloc to invest around $600 billion in the U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 11.7 points, or 1.5%, to conclude Monday at 789.43.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower Monday, with gold tumbling 1.9%, materials weaker by 1.5, and telecoms lower 1.5%.
Energy strengthened 1.9%, while information technology squeezed up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 ended Monday near the flatline as traders looked past a trade deal announced between the U.S. and the European Union, and a big week of market catalysts — including the Federal Reserve’s rate decision — loomed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dumped 64.36 points to 44,837.56.
The much broader index eked ahead 1.13 points to 6,389.77.
The NASDAQ gained 70.27 points to 21,178.58.
The moves came after President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. has reached an agreement with the European Union to lower tariffs to 15%. The president had previously threatened 30% tariffs on most imported goods from the U.S.’s largest trading partner.
On Monday, Trump said that the global baseline tariff for countries that have not renegotiated with the U.S. will likely be between 15% to 20%.
More than 150 companies in the S&P 500 are due to post their quarterly results, including “Magnificent Seven” names Meta Platforms and Microsoft on Wednesday, followed by Amazon and Apple on Thursday. Investors will be listening for companies’ comments on AI spending for direction on whether big investments in hyperscalers this year are justified.
The Fed will also hold its two-day policy meeting, concluding on Wednesday. Although the central bank is expected to keep its key short-term interest rate at its current target range of 4.25%-4.5%, investors will be looking for clues about whether a rate cut could be on the table at the September meeting.
Prices for the 10-year treasury were fairly flat, raising yields to 4.41% Friday’s 4.38%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank $1.92 to $67.08 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $19.00 to $3,316.60 U.S. an ounce.
