TSX flat as broader gains offset materials weakness

Canada’s main stock index remained flat on Monday despite weakness in resource stocks as broader market gains took hold with global markets buoyed by easing Middle East tensions.

By mid-morning, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/ TSX composite index was down 7.52 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 21,799.85.

The material sector, which houses Canadian miners and fertilizer companies, dropped 2.2 per cent and was set for its worst day in over two months.

It was pulled down by miners such as K92 Mining and NOVAGOLD Resources that fell 5.1 per cent and 4.7 per cent, the highest among the sectors, tracking sharp declines in precious metal prices. Energy shares followed suit with a 0.3 per cent slide on declining oil prices.

Declines were limited by technology stocks that rose 0.7 per cent pulled up by a 5.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent gain in crypto miners Hut 8 and Bitfarms, respectively, as Bitcoin rose 3.3 per cent.

The TSX outperformed its Wall Street peers on Friday, ending 0.5 per cent higher, while paring some of its weekly declines to end the week 0.4 per cent lower.

Wall Street, however, opened higher on Monday after steep losses in the previous session.

During the week, the monthly reading of the personal consumption expenditure in the U.S., which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, is on the radar.

Investors will also focus on the big tech earnings in the United States, with giants like Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta reporting their quarterly earnings this week.