Dec 09, 2024 (Baystreet.ca via COMTEX) --
Canada's main stock index hit a record high on Monday, led by mining stocks, while anticipation of an interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada also lifted investor sentiment.
The TSX climbed 63.97 points Monday afternoon to 25,755.77.
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.13 cents to 70.80 cents U.S.
The Bank of Canada is expected to cut the interest rate by half a percentage point on Wednesday, marking its second consecutive rate cut of such magnitude.
Bets for a hefty cut jumped after Friday's data showed a sharp rise in the unemployment rate, with nearly 80% of respondents in a Reuters poll predicting a 50-bps cut on Dec. 11 to 3.25%.
In corporate news, Swedish mining group Boliden agreed to buy Lundin Mining's Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal and the Zinkgruvan mine in Sweden. Lundin Mining gained 35 cents, or 2.5%, to $14.09.
BRP Inc gained $2.76, or 3.8%, to $75.51 as the power sports products company extended its gains from Friday,
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 5.91 points, or 1%, to 616.13.
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly divided between gainers and losers, with gold shining 3.6%, materials stronger by 3.5%, and energy rumbling 1.5%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed by information technology down 0.9%, utilities, off 0.7%, and real-estate, shedding 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite pulled back from record highs Monday, with tech shares struggling and investors looking ahead to key inflation data due out this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial index remained in the red 70.11 points Monday noon to 44,572.41
The much-broader index dipped 27.48 points to 6,062.79
The NASDAQ Composite fell 92.29 points to 19,767.48
Nvidia shares dropped around 3% on the heels of a Chinese regulator announcing that it's investigating the AI chip darling for potentially violating the country's antimonopoly law. The stock has been a bellwether for the artificial intelligence trade, up about 179% in 2024.
Advanced Micro Devices, another chipmaker, was also under pressure after Bank of America downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, with the bank citing its limited market share gain potential as a result of "higher competitive risks in AI against best-of-breed NVDA's dominance." Other tech stocks like Tesla fell more than 1%, while Meta lost 2%, and Netflix also struggled, falling nearly 3%.
Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin retreated as well, a sign that investors are moving away from risk-taking. The cryptocurrency topped $100,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday evening last week.
The moves come after the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed at fresh records Friday, rising 1% and 3.3% for the week, respectively. The Dow was the
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lagged, raising yields to 4.19% from Friday's 4.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.39 to $68.50 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold jumped $30.00 an ounce to $2,689.70 U.S.
COMTEX_460653640/2559/2024-12-09T12:42:12
