The unpredictability of the stock market is at play, as Canada’s main stock exchange has lost all its gains over the past three months.
Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index opened today with a steep fall. At 9:33 a.m. ET, was down 179.38 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 19,712.27.
But that was not the end. At 12 noon, the index went further down 347.39 points, or 1.75 per cent, at 19,544.26.
With that, the index had lost 2.22 per cent in the past five days and 1.81 per cent in the past month. In the past three months, the TSX had lost 0.18 per cent. In the same vein, the index had lost 8.00 per cent since the beginning of the year and 5.86 per cent in the past year.
All the sectors were in the negative, which is not usual. Energy was the worst hit, losing 2.40 per cent, followed by materials, shedding 2.70 per cent. The healthcare sector came third with a drop of 2.40 per cent.
In the case of individual stocks, Northland Power Inc. was leading the chart as the best-performing stock with a gain of 2.98 per cent, followed by Chartwell Retirement Residences with a gain of 1.85 per cent. Filo Mining Corp. held the third position with a gain of 1.82 per cent.
On the reverse side, the three least-performing stocks were TransAlta Renewables Inc., which was losing 11.11 per cent; Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., shedding 9.85 per cent; and Canopy Growth Corp stock price., dropping 8.33 per cent.
But if there is something to share for investors, it is the consolation that while the TSX had lost about 8.00 per cent since the beginning of the year, the American benchmark S&P 500 index had lost over 17 per cent during the same period.
At 12 noon, the American stock markets were reacting to Wednesday’s announcement by the Federal Reserve that it would continue with interest hikes in 2023 to rein in inflation. The S&P 500 was down 83.21 points, or 2.08 per cent, at 3,912.11. The DOW was also down 653.87 points, or 1.93 per cent, at 33,312.48.
Crude oil fell to US$76.35 per barrel, shedding $0.93, or 1.20 per cent. Gold futures also dropped to US$1,793.30 per ounce, losing $25.40, or 1.40 per cent.
The Canadian dollar also was down against the American dollar. The loonie was exchanged for US$0.7327, with a loss of $0.0053, or 0.7181 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Real Estate Association announced today that the price drop in the housing market continued in November. The group reported that the average selling price of the typical house fell to $632,802. The price of a typical home has fallen 12 per cent since last year.
Market movers
This week, our investment-savvy readers have paid more attention to stories involving metals.
Rover Metals (ROVR) provided an update on its Let’s Go Lithium (LGL) project.
American Potash Corp. (KCL) received approval from the Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining.
Kintavar Exploration (KTR) completed infill drilling at the Sherlock Zone in its Mitchi Project.
Finally, capital raises this week so far include T2 Metals, Stratabound Minerals, Ascot Resources, Golden Share Resources, Lion Electric, Sabre Gold Mines Corp., Clip Money, and GoldON Resources.
