Dipping energy and materials stocks coupled with ongoing trade concerns involving Canada and the U.S. factored into a slight drop on the TSX today.
Canada’s stock exchange edged 23 points lower with seven of the index’s 11 major sectors in negative territory.
Trade worries also impacted the market, with NAFTA negotiations between Canada and the U.S. resuming after a four-day break.
Oil prices fell on reports of a rise in US crude inventories, along with Tropical Storm Gordon weakening as it made landfall onto the U.S. Gulf Coast easing supply concerns.
Oil slid $1.23 to $68.84 US a barrel.
In New York, it was a flat day on the Dow despite shares in market mover Caterpillar jumping 1.7 percent. The index finished the day 22 points on the plus side.
A sharp sell-off of major U.S. tech stocks including Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Google parent Alphabet weighted the Nasdaq which tumbled 96 points, marking its biggest one-day loss in three weeks.
And the loonie rallied from yesterday’s half cent drop by inching 5/100ths of a cent higher to $0.7587 cents US, while gold rose $2.90 to $1,196 US an ounce.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada announced today that it is holding its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.5 percent.
The BoC stated that it is closely monitoring the course of NAFTA negotiations as well as inflation impacts.
