Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
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.
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.
Ontario will need 33,200 more nurses and 50,853 more personal support workers by 2032, the government projects — figures it tried to keep secret but were obtained by The Canadian Press.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Thousands have been forced to flee a wildfire burning near Fort Nelson. Meanwhile, some experienced volunteers are staying behind to fight the fire.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Kansas could soon offer up to US$5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve the expenditures and the schools must meet some very specific criteria.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'