TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index closed down more than 100 points as crude prices fell again in a wavy day for markets that saw U.S. markets end the day mixed.
“We opened up with a rally, which then petered out, and it’s clawed back from the bottom,” said Les Stelmach, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Canada, 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 as low as 19,736.68 in intraday trading.
The downward close for the Canadian stock market marks a fourth day in a row of closing in the red, and left the market about a dozen points off the correction territory of a 10 per cent loss from its March 29 high of 22,087.22.
The TSX fell as most of the main indexes besides base metals saw declines. Energy was down 0.4 per cent as several companies slipped including Suncor Energy down 1.1 per cent despite reporting a jump in earnings and bumping its dividend.
Energy companies were lower as the June crude contract ended down US$3.33 at US$99.76 per barrel, following on a more than US$6 per barrel decline Monday, though the June natural gas contract closed up 36 cents at US$7.39 per mmBTU.
Industrials also ended down 0.5 per cent despite Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. jumping 12.2 per cent after reporting revenues up.
The TSX was also weighed down by Bausch Health Companies Inc. falling 27.1 per cent after revising down its financial outlook and a lacklustre spinoff of its optical division.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 84.96 points at 32,160.74. The S&P 500 index ended up 9.81 points at 4,001.05, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.42 points at 11,737.67.
U.S. markets were boosted by established technology players, said Stelmach.
“The U.S. is picking up mostly on technology stocks, but what I would call your old-school established names, the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Intel, Cisco, those stocks have all had a nice bounce today.”
The Canadian dollar traded for 76.85 cents US compared with 77.14 cents US on Monday.
The June gold contract was down US$17.60 at US$1,841.00 an ounce and the July copper contract was down four cents at US$4.16 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)
The Canadian Press