MONEY IN BRIEF
Currencies
OTTAWA (CP) — These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Monday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australia dollar 0.9355
Brazil real 0.3129
China renminbi 0.1898
Euro 1.5215
Hong Kong dollar 0.1659
India rupee 0.01795
Indonesia rupiah 0.000088
Japan yen 0.01163
Malaysia ringgit 0.3146
Mexico peso 0.06912
N.Z. dollar 0.8571
Norway krone 0.1593
Peruvian new sol 0.393
Russia rouble 0.01913
Saudi riyal 0.3471
Singapore dollar 0.9493
South Africa rand 0.08733
South Korean won 0.001157 Sweden krona 0.1459 Switzerland franc 1.3528 Taiwanese dollar 0.04228 Thailand baht 0.03995
Turkey lira 0.2067
U.K. pound 1.7122
U.S. dollar 1.3019
Vietnam dong 0.000056
The markets today
TORONTO (CP) — The renewed prospect of a trade war between the United States and China caused American stock markets to slump on Monday, but Canada’s main stock index diverged by closing higher after getting a boost from gold, materials and the cannabis-heavy health-care sectors.
Rumours about the Coca Cola Company being interested in talks with Aurora Cannabis Inc. to develop pot-infused drinks caused a halo effect for the country’s cannabis sector, said Craig Fehr, Canadian markets strategist for Edward Jones.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 68.82 points to 16,082.31, after reaching a high of 16,117.95 on 222.7 million shares traded. The health-care sector led by gaining 4.58 per cent on the day as Aurora Cannabis gained nearly 17 per cent and Canopy Growth Corp. was in positive territory. “The lift in gold prices and the lift in the health-care sector domestically is kind of carrying the day for the TSX,” Fehr said.
While uncertainty over NAFTA talks have affected markets and the Canadian dollar in the past, the focus Monday was on uncertainty over relations between the world’s two largest economies. “Those trade tensions for today are centred on the U.S. and China. As we progress not only through this week but over the next coming weeks I think that the conversation for the domestic markets is really going to centre around any progress or lack thereof with NAFTA talks,” he said. Investors reacted to speculation that the Trump administration is preparing to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 92.55 points to 26,062.12. The S&P 500 index was down 16.18 points to 2,888.80, while the Nasdaq composite was down 114.25 points to 7,895.79. “We’re still a long, long way away from this being officially a trade war but clearly in terms of some of the rhetoric in the news about potential tariffs being a negotiating tactic we’re starting to see that the U.S. and China are calling each other’s bluff to an extent and we’re inching closer to potentially slightly larger tariffs on a bigger pool of goods,” said Fehr. Technology stocks also moved lower as they often do whenever the mood around the international environment sours.
The Canadian dollar averaged traded at an average of 76.81 cents US compared with an average of 76.73 cents US on Friday. The October crude contract was down eight cents at US$68.91 per barrel.