Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
Canada's main stock market moved further into record territory Monday despite a relatively quiet day marked by a pullback in the key energy sector.
There was “little conviction” overall in equity markets to start the trading week even as investors are focused on earnings season, which has started very strongly, said Craig Fehr, investment strategist, Edward Jones.
“While that led to a positive week last week, we're seeing some consolidation today. But I would say broadly it's a positive trend when we're going to see equities pivot their sights toward corporate profits because that continues to be probably the brightest element of the fundamental backdrop at the moment,” he said in an interview.
Fehr said there's a lot more occurring beneath the surface with a rebound in communications and technology that favours the S&P 500 and Nasdaq over the Dow.
“The TSX has been on a roll,” he said pointing to the heavyweight financials services sector that has benefited from the prospects of higher rates and faster loan growth.
“But at the same time, obviously the tear that oil has been on has benefited energy stocks, and so that's where we've seen some divergences between the Canadian stock market and the U.S. market.”
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 57.27 points to a high of the day at 20,985.37.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 36.15 points at 35,258.61. The S&P 500 index was up 15.09 points at 4,486.46, while the Nasdaq composite was up 124.47 points at 15,021.81.
Technology and industrials led while energy and health care were the biggest laggards on the day.
Technology rose 1.1 per cent with shares of Shopify Inc. increasing 2.9 per cent.
Industrials increased 0.7 per cent with TFI International Inc. and WSP Global Inc. each up about 1.9 per cent.
Energy lost 1.2 per cent on a dip in crude oil prices and a big loss in natural gas prices.
Fehr said the sector's performance Monday reflected investors catching their breath after a spectacular run so far in 2021 in which crude oil has surged 68 per cent.
“To see them take a breather today is not particularly surprising given the run they've been on.”
Crude's strong movement reflects the outlook for robust demand and the challenges of meeting that with adequate supplies.
The December crude contract was down four cents at US$81.69 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down 42.1 cents at US$4.99 per mmBTU.
Shares of Birchcliff Energy Ltd. were down 3.2 per cent, followed by Tourmaline Oil Corp. and MEG Energy Corp. at 2.9 and 2.6 per cent, respectively.
The Canadian dollar traded for 80.78 US, unchanged from Friday.
Materials was also lower on a dip in metals prices as New Gold Inc. fell 4.1 per cent.
The December gold contract was down US$2.60 at US$1,765.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four tenths of a cent at nearly US$4.73 a pound.
The backdrop to Monday's stock market results was a slowing of the Chinese economy.
Gross domestic product grew 4.9 per cent in the July to September period from a year earlier. That was the weakest growth since the third quarter of 2020.
While disappointing, the trend isn't surprising given that world's second-largest economy is becoming more consumption based and less investment focused, said Fehr.
The growth rate will likely outpace developed markets but be slower than investors have come to expect over the last 20 to 30 years.
Fehr said the bigger question for markets is whether Chinese policy-makers will come to the rescue as they have done in the last two to three decades.
“We will probably see a little bit more from the People's Bank of China on the monetary side, but I think broadly this is a reflection of the fact that stimulus isn't coming immediately to the rescue, as has been the case in prior years.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.
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.
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.