Stocks in Canada’s largest market saw a brisk round of profit-taking on Monday to begin December, with shares in health-care taking the brunt of the selling.
The TSX demurred 57.67 points to close Monday at 25,590.33
The Canadian dollar sank 0.17 cents to 71.19 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Condor Gold said it received two non-binding takeover proposals from Calibre Mining and Metals Exploration. Condor shares gained a penny, or 8%, to 13.5 cents.
Health-care stocks took a particular pounding, as Bausch Health Companies dropped 96 cents, or 8%, to $10.99.
Elsewhere, Chartwell Retirement Residence units lost 30 cents, or 1.9%, to $15.85.
In gold stocks, B2Gold dipped 19 cents, or 4.7%, to $3.89, while Seabridge Gold dumped 58 cents, or 2.9%, to $19.74.
Tech stocks were also roughed up, with Lightspeed Commerce losing $1.97, or 7.5%, to $24.28, while Bitfarms shed 28 cents, or 7.4%, to $2.87.
Consumer staple stocks moved into the opposite direction, with Saputo up 55 cents, or 2.1%, to $26.65, while Loblaw stock advanced $2.62, or 1.4%, to $184.32.
In consumer discretionary stocks, Aritzia triumphed $2.38, or 5.1%, to $49.02, while BRP Inc. gained $1.35, or 2%, to $69.77.
Communications also moved ahead, with Quebecor better by 45 cents, or 1.4%, to $33.51, while Rogers Communications added 45 cents to $50.45.
Quarterly earnings from big Canadian lenders, including Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada and Toronto Dominion Bank, will also be in focus later in the week.
On matters macroeconomic, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index remained above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark for a third successive month in November, improving to 52.0, from 51.1 in October, the rate of growth also improved to its highest since February 2023.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange settled 1.25 points to 613.01.
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower by Monday’s close, with health-care plunging 3%, gold letting go of 1.2%, and information technology off 0.8%.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, growing 1.1%, while consumer discretionary stocks ahead 0.9%, and communications rumbling 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 ticked higher to a new record to begin December trading as investors looked for stocks to add to big November gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial index declined 128.65 points to 44,782
The broader index nicked ahead 14.77 points to 6,047.15.
The NASDAQ Composite spiked 185.78 points, or 1%, to 19,403.95.
Shares of Tesla gained 3% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Roth MKM, with the firm citing as a catalyst Musk’s close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump. AI server maker Super Micro Computer surged 29% after a special committee found “no evidence of misconduct” and that the firm’s financial statements were “materially accurate.” Meanwhile, Amazon stock added 1% amid the start of the holiday shopping season on Cyber Monday.
Intel jumped 4% after CEO Pat Gelsinger retired after four years of underperformance at the chipmaker.
November marked the best month of 2024 for Dow, which gained 7.5% and S&P 500, with the index improving 5.7% for the period. Most of the gains came in a post-election rally after President-elect Donald Trump emerged as the winner. Both of the indexes notched closing highs in Friday’s shortened trading session.
On Monday morning, freshly released economic data indicated that the U.S. manufacturing sector improved in November, although it still remained in contraction. That came ahead of the November jobs report, due out on Friday morning.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell a bit, raising yields to 4.19% from Friday’s 4.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices increased seven cents to $68.07 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold slipped $20.60 an ounce to $2,660.400 U.S.
