TORONTO-
Canada’s main stock index closed down more than 100 points as crude prices fell again in an undulating day for markets that saw US markets end the day mixed.
“We opened with a rally, which then faded and rebounded from the bottom,” Les Stelmach, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Canada, said of the volatile day for the TSX as markets test investor interest to buy the dip. .
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 109.63 points at 19,890.06 after hitting a low of 19,736.68 in intraday trading.
The Canadian stock market’s lower close marks the fourth straight day of closing in the red and left the market a dozen points out of correction territory of a 10 percent loss from its March 29 high of 22,087.22.
The TSX fell as most major indices, apart from base metals, fell. Energy fell 0.4 percent as several companies fell, including Suncor Energy, down 1.1 percent, despite reporting a rise in earnings and raising its dividend.
Energy companies were lower as the June crude contract closed down $3.33 to $99.76 a barrel, after falling more than $6 a barrel on Monday, although the natural gas contract June closed up 36 cents at US$7.39 per mmBTU.
The industrials sector also closed down 0.5 percent despite Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. jumping 12.2 percent after reporting a rise in revenue.
The TSX was also hit by Bausch Health Companies Inc., which fell 27.1 percent after it revised down its financial outlook and a lackluster spin-off of its optical division.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.96 points to 32,160.74. The S&P 500 Index finished up 9.81 points at 4,001.05, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 114.42 points to 11,737.67.
US markets were driven by established tech players, Stelmach said.
“The US is mostly recovering from tech stocks, but what I would call the old school established names like Apple, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Intel, Cisco, all of those stocks have had a nice rebound today.”
The Canadian dollar traded at 76.85 US cents compared to 77.14 US cents on Monday.
The June gold contract fell US$17.60 to US$1,841.00 an ounce and the July copper contract fell four cents to US$4.16 a pound.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 10, 2022.
