S&P/TSX composite down Monday, U.S. stock markets mixed

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This article was published 02/12/2024 (319 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index moved lower Monday, weighed down by weakness in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed on the first trading day of December.

Tech stocks rallied south of the border as the bullish sentiment that marked November continues into the final month of the year, said Ryan Crowther, portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Canada.

“I think it’s just continued optimism in the market,” he said.

“It feels like the sentiment of the market right now is, if there’s nothing to worry about, then it’s a green light for stocks to keep moving higher.”

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted new records, with the latter gaining almost one per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 128.65 points at 44,782.00. The S&P 500 index was up 14.77 points at 6,047.15, while the Nasdaq composite was up 185.78 points at 19,403.95.

Meanwhile, Canadian markets took on a different tone Monday as tech darling Shopify saw its stock drop almost two per cent.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 57.67 points at 25,590.33.

Shopify’s Black Friday numbers seemed pretty good, said Crowther, but perhaps some investors thought they weren’t strong enough.

The company’s real-time map of sales showed a new record for Black Friday, with global sales reaching US$5 billion.

However, Crowther noted Shopify shares have been riding high recently, so “there’s room for it to take a breather.”

This week, Canada’s biggest banks are set to cap off earnings season.

“As far as the credit situation for Canadian banks, we should be nearing the peak for loss provisions at this point and so far, things haven’t been as bad as some would have feared,” said Crowther.

“The investor outlook for 2025, if market strength continues, could include an improved capital markets backdrop, a potential return of IPOs into the picture, so that would be something that people will be thinking about this week as we digest the Canadian bank earnings.”

Both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada are set to announce one more interest rate decision this month.

Markets in the U.S. are currently leaning toward expecting a quarter-percentage-point rate cut from the Fed, according to CME Group.

Meanwhile, “I think the conditions in Canada are still amenable for further rate cuts,” said Crowther, with an outsized half-percentage-point cut still in the cards for this month.

The Canadian dollar traded for 71.14 cents US compared with 71.38 cents US on Friday.

The January crude oil contract was up 10 cents at US$68.10 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down 15 cents at US$3.21 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down US$22.50 at US$2,658.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was down a penny at US$4.13 a pound.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)