MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
Canada's main stock index had its worst day in nearly a month and the loonie hit a seven-week low as investors continued to react to the U.S. Federal Reserve's commentary about interest rates increasing sooner than expected.
"After the Fed meeting yesterday the market did take a downturn ... and people had overnight to digest it and they're continuing on that track," said Michael Currie, vice-president and investment adviser at TD Wealth.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 86.92 points to 20,144.04 for its biggest decline since May 19.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 210.22 points at 33,823.45. The S&P 500 index was down 1.84 points at 4,221.86, while the Nasdaq composite was up 121.67 points at 14,161.35.
Commodities took the biggest hits as lower prices and a stronger U.S. dollar hurt both the materials and energy sectors.
"People in those markets are perceiving that it was a hawkish statement by the Fed yesterday so we saw some pretty good and quick declines in both of those," he said in an interview.
In addition to moving up when it expects rates will rise, the U.S. central bank said Wednesday that it expects two quarter-point increases in 2023.
The bank's commentary pushed up the U.S. dollar and caused the Canadian dollar to lose one cent Thursday, falling to 81.03 cents US compared with 82.03 cents US on Wednesday.
Gold and copper prices both dropped, pushing Yamana Gold Inc. down 7.8 per cent as the materials sector was 3.9 per cent lower.
The August gold contract was down US$84.50 at US$1,776.90 an ounce, it's lowest settled price since May 4. The July copper contract was down 14 cents at US$4.24 a pound, a near two-month low.
Crude prices fell despite a drop in U.S. inventories last week to push energy off 4.4 per cent.
The July crude oil contract was down 75 cents at US$71.40 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down four cents at US$3.21 per mmBTU.
Vermilion Energy Inc. and Crescent Point Energy Corp. were 6.3 and 5.9 per cent lower, respectively.
Technology had the strongest performance on the day, climbing 3.6 per cent as shares of Lightspeed POS Inc. gained 7.5 per cent, Shopify Inc. was up 7.2 per cent and BlackBerry Ltd. rose 5.3 per cent despite objections from some investors toward its executive compensation.
In gaining, Canada's tech sector mirrored movements by the tech-heavy Nasdaq as bond yields decreased.
"There's definitely some big bets being made and covered after yesterday's (Fed) meeting," said Currie, noting some rebalancing back to growth from value sectors that have been strong in 2021.
The reaction by investors depends if they have short- or long-term horizons, he said, noting that interest rates will be rising, but that won't happen for two years.
"Short-term it's not bad news but long-term the inevitable is coming."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2021.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.