S&P/TSX composite up almost 150 at closing, U.S. markets also higher

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This article was published 23/12/2024 (607 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index pushed higher to end Monday up almost 150 points on light trading action, while U.S. stock markets also gained ahead of the Christmas break.

“Today is a quiet pre-Christmas Day of trading,” said Kevin Burkett, a portfolio manager at Victoria, B.C.-based Burkett Asset Management.

While markets in both Canada and the U.S. were mild, Burkett suggests watching the markets closely during the holiday season, a contrast to what’s typically a sleepy period for markets.

“We’re continuing to watch markets very closely here because you’ve got some tectonic plate shifting in terms of the macroeconomic backdrop,” he said. “It’s all the political conversations both in Canada and in the U.S.”

Burkett added fiscal policy seems to be disconnected from monetary policy in the post-pandemic period.

“The fiscal policy may shift and that shift absolutely has market implications both in the short and long term,” he said.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 149.50 points at 24,748.98.

Statistics Canada released its latest numbers on Canada’s economic growth, up 0.3 per cent in October — driven by the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector.

The loonie continued its slide, trading for 69.47 cents US compared with 69.61 cents US on Friday.

The telecom sector was the biggest loser at the closing on TSX, which Burkett attributed to “tax loss selling happening at the end of the year.”

Competition Bureau Canada announced on Monday it was suing Rogers Communications Inc. for allegedly making misleading claims about its infinite wireless plans.

The stock price for Rogers, which is hovering near 52-week lows, fell 0.7 per cent on Monday. Meanwhile, BCE was down almost 1.4 per cent and Telus dropped 0.9 per cent.

Burkett suggested the day’s poor performance among telecom companies was likely tax loss selling since it’s almost the end of the year.

“It’s been a tough year for the communication services sector,” he said.

South of the border, communications services was the top-performing sector, led by large-cap tech companies. Several big technology companies helped support the gains, including chip companies Nvidia and Broadcom.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 66.69 points at 42,906.95. The S&P 500 index was up 43.22 points at 5,974.07, while the Nasdaq composite was up 192.29 points at 19,764.89.

The February crude oil contract was down 22 cents at US$69.24 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down six cents at US$3.35 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down US$16.90 at US$2,628.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was down one cent at US$4.09 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX: GSPTSE, TSX: CADUSD, TSE: BCE, TSE: RCI. B)