Canada’s main stock index sank on Friday to its lowest in 1-1/2 years on persistently grim global sentiment following more disappointing data out of China.
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The SP/TSX composite index closed down 299.63 points at 13,737 in what was its fourth consecutive losing session and one that took Canada’s leading index to lows not seen since mid-December.
Canada’s stock market is also getting caught in the crossfire between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in the fight for control of the global oil market.
If you look simply at all stock prices and average those – an “equal weight average” – the TSX is down 21 per cent over the past year, and down 9.2 per cent just since the start of this year, Delisle said in an analysis published Wednesday.
Bank of Nova Scotia declined 1.4 per cent and Royal Bank of Canada lost 1.2 per cent. The nation’s largest lenders begin reporting third-quarter earnings next week. “You typically tend to have a follow- through after big days”. Eight of the 10 sectors were down more than 1 per cent.
The data from China showed its giant manufacturing sector slowing at the fastest pace since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009, confirming the worries about its health that have preying on economist’s minds for months. The data comes on the heels of weaker-than-expected economic data in July, the yuan’s devaluation this month and a stock market plunge. The roiling equity markets has investors seeking a haven in gold, seen as an alternative investment.
“You have to put this week’s move into perspective”. He believes investors should be looking at “buying opportunities up north”. All the remaining sectors fell more than 1 percent, including consumer staples, which slumped 2.7 percent.
Valeant has been following a strategy of growing through acquisitions in recent years, helping the company almost double its stock price this year.
Existing home sales in the US unexpectedly saw continued growth in July, with sales climbing to their highest level in well over eight years, a report from the National Association of Realtors revealed Thursday.
The S&P 500 and the Dow closed in the red for the year on Thursday on concerns that the decelerating Chinese economy would translate into slower global growth.
On Wall Street, traders were digesting mixed signals from the US Federal Reserve that an interest rate hike in September was still under debate.
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Markets in the US were also under pressure, ending sharply lower. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended down 1.3 percent to $5,055 a tonne. (BTE.TO) plummeted 6.62 percent, and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) fell 2.72 percent.
