TSX and U.S. markets edge down across sectors

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index lost more than 100 points Monday on broad-based weakness while U.S. markets were also down, with the Nasdaq slipping one per cent.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 129.42 points at 20628.92.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 33891.02. The S&P 500 index was down 25.40 points at 4111.08, while the Nasdaq composite was down 119.50 points at 11887.45.

Investors were likely anticipating a speech from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell today, said Ashish Utarid, assistant vice-president of investment strategy at IG Wealth Management.

While it’s a relatively quiet week in terms of economic data, Utarid noted that on Friday, the University of Michigan will release its monthly index of consumer sentiment.

“Generally, when market sentiment is at its lowest, it’s a bullish signal for the markets a year later,” he said.

Monday saw a continuation in the U.S. of Friday’s downward reaction to hotterthan-expected jobs data.

The data showed the U.S. added 517,000 jobs, with unemployment at historic lows.

Expectations are rising that the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer in its bid to combat inflation.

The TSX, meanwhile, was pulled down by materials Monday, said Utarid, with both oil and materials down from their January peaks.

Though earnings so far in Canada and the U.S. have been full of positive surprises, the materials sector has so far reported poor earnings and revenues for its latest quarter due to lower prices in the last quarter of 2022, noted Utarid.

But he thinks the sector has upside potential for the rest of the year with China’s reopening.

“Commodity prices are pretty robust going forward,” he said.

Despite oil prices being up Monday, the TSX energy index was down almost 0.4 per cent, while financials and industrials were both down more than 0.6 per cent.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.39 cents US compared with

74.68 cents US on Friday.

The March crude contract was up 72 cents at $74.11 US per barrel, and the March natural gas contract was up five cents at $2.46 US per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up $2.90 US at $1,879.50 US an ounce, and the March copper contract was down two cents at $4.04 US a pound.