Canadian Market Pares Early Gains As Energy Stocks Tumble
(RTTNews) - After opening slightly higher and moving further up subsequently, the Canadian benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index retreated and slipped into negative territory Monday morning, weighed down by losses in energy sector due to weak crude oil prices.
The upmove came amid easing geopolitical tensions following Iran and the U.S. pausing their attacks on each other. Crude oil prices plummeted on news U.S. President Donald Trump has halted nearly two weeks of attacks on Iran to allow more room for diplomacy.
"He's giving talks some space, he's giving it a little bit of room," U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News on Sunday.
Iran subsequently stopped conducting counterattacks and said it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 30.21 points or 0.09% at 35,338.89 a few minutes before noon. Earlier, the index climbed to 35,592.10.
The Energy Capped Index dropped 3% as stocks in the sector fell sharply after oil prices tumbled. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures plunged to $82.12 a barrel before recovering to $83.27, but still losing nearly 7% from previous close.
Spartan Delta Corp., International Petroleum Corporation, Athabasca Oil Corporation, Vermilion Energy, Headwater Exploration, Cenovus Energy, Kelt Exploration, Strathcona Resources, Canadian Natural Resources, Baytex Energy, Whitecap Resources and Suncor Energy lost 3%-5%.
Utilities stocks Capital Power Corporation, Northland Power, Transalta Corporation, Brookfield Renewable, AltaGas, Canadian Utilities and Brookfield Infra Partners shed 1%-3%.
Tech stocks moved higher, lifting the Information Technology Capped Index up by over 4%. Shopify Inc. shares soared nearly 10%. Open Text Corporation surged 6.5%, while CGI Inc., Descartes Systems Group, Docebo, Kinaxis, Constellation Software, Lightspeed Commerce, Computer Modelling, Enghouse Systems, Coveo Solutions and TecSys gained 3%-5%.
Consumer discretionary stocks Restaurant Brands International, Dollarama, Brp Inc. and Canadian Tire Corporation moved up 1.5%-2.3%.