TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index fell almost 300 points Friday after a surprising rise Thursday, pulled down by losses in energy and base metals, while the U.S. markets fell at a steeper rate.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 287.28 points at 18,326.35.
“I think what’s happening is investors are digesting the inflation numbers and the interest rate increases that are happening globally. And that’s resulting in quite a bit of volatility,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.
Between falling home sales and falling manufacturing sales, both announced Friday, it’s clear the economic environment is slowing in Canada, said Chopra.
Normally, a slowing economy would signal interest rate cuts, but that’s not on the menu this time, he said; inflation is still persistent, as shown by the hotter-than-expected data out of the U.S. on Thursday.
Canadian inflation data for September will be released on Oct. 19, and the market is still expecting persistent inflation numbers, as interest rate increases take time to work their way through the economy, said Chopra.
Consumers’ inflation expectations are increasing in the U.S., noted Chopra, and the big American banks have started reporting earnings, showing profits are down year over year.
They’re making more money on interest spreads, but having to set aside money to cover potential loan defaults, and investment banking activity is down, he said.
U.S. markets were down as banks started reporting, with the Dow Jones industrial average was down 403.89 points at 29,634.83. The S&P 500 index was down 86.84 points, or more than two per cent, at 3,583.07, while the Nasdaq composite was down 327.76 points, or more than three per cent, at 10,321.39.
As more companies report, investors will be keen to see how much pressure they’re feeling from the various economic headwinds, said Chopra.
“Investors over the next number of weeks are going to be looking at earnings coming from companies both in Canada and the United States, to see what the impact of inflation is on the costs, as well as the companies’ ability to raise prices.”
He said investors will also be looking to see what impact rising central bank interest rates have had on company profits and balance sheets.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.17 cents US compared with 72.43 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude contract was down US$3.50 at US$85.61 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down 28.8 cents at US$6.45 per mmBTU.
With energy prices high amid a slowing economy, Chopra said consumer demand for energy may be affected in the coming weeks and months.
The December gold contract was down US$28.10 at US$1,648.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was down 1.7 cents at US$3.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX_CADUSD=X)
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version included incorrect closing numbers for the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index.
