NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Canada's main stock index rose after investors returned from a long weekend even as the technology sector was whipsawed by soured sentiment resulting from profit warnings by social media company Snap Inc.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 88.59 points to 20,286.20 a day after U.S. markets rallied from Friday's steep losses.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 48.38 points at 31,928.62. But the S&P 500 index lost 32.27 points at 3,941.48, while the Nasdaq composite was down 270.82 points or 2.4 per cent at 11,264.45.
Monday's rally in the U.S. was partially offset by Tuesday losses for the two tech-focused markets, said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
“Because Canada was closed yesterday, we're getting the combination of two days worth of movement. So even though yesterday was up in the U.S. and down today, Canada is just up very, very modestly,” he said in an interview.
The Toronto market was largely driven higher by commodity sectors and financials which continued to gain ground amid elevated inflation and rising interest rates.
Energy climbed 2.5 per cent despite lower crude oil prices as Crescent Point Energy Corp. was up 6.2 per cent.
“I think investors believe that it's safe to hide any energy gains on tough days because the price of oil may stay at these high levels for a while,” said Chopra.
The July crude contract was down 52 cents at US$109.77 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was nearly one cent at US$8.84 per mmBTU.
The Canadian dollar traded for 77.97 cents US compared with 77.95 cents US on Friday.
Materials rose 1.4 per cent on increased bullion prices with Oceanagold Corp. gaining 7.6 per cent.
The June gold contract was up US$17.60 at US$1,865.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 4.1 cents at US$4.31 a pound.
Canadian banks moved up a day before the release of their second quarter results.
Banks earn income from the spread between the rate they lend at and the cost to borrow. With interest rates going up worldwide, banks are the beneficiaries of an environment of increasing spreads, said Chopra.
“But there is some concern given the potential for a slowing environment that margin expansion from rising interest rates could be offset by increased expenses and loan loss reserves and lower capital market activity than there was a year ago.”
Health care was the biggest laggard Tuesday, losing 7.5 per cent as cannabis shares slumped after the governor of Delaware vetoed a bill to legalize cannabis in the state, setting up a political battle with the legislature.
Chopra said the question for investors is does state opposition become an issue across the United States.
Shares of Canopy Growth Corp. plunged 14.5 per cent while Aurora Cannabis Inc. and Cronos Group Inc. were down 12.3 and 11.1 per cent, respectively.
Technology slumped 4.3 per cent in Canada to follow the lead of the U.S. sector after the profit warning from Snap caused its shares to plunge 43 per cent, with ripple effects to Alphabet, Meta, and Twitter as investors were concerned about digital advertising revenue.
Shares of Shopify Inc. lost 10.7 per cent while Hut 8 Mining Corp. was down 10 per cent.
After benefiting from enhanced sales during COVID-19 lockdowns, tech companies are adjusting to a normalizing environment with people going out instead of being stuck at home.
“Investors have to recalibrate what the sales and earnings of these COVID beneficiary stocks are actually going to be going forward and it takes some time for that recalibration to happen. It'll take a few quarters before investors get a better picture as people go back to work and stay at home less,” Chopra added.
Also pressuring U.S. market was retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. posting a quarterly loss and reducing its annual sales and margin outlook. Markets were partially upended last week by weak guidance from Walmart Inc. and Target Corporation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
French police cordoned off the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday, where a man was threatening to blow himself up, Europe 1 radio and BFM TV.
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.