TSE and Wall Street stumble as loonie drops

TORONTO — It was a quiet start to the week as Canada’s main stock index dipped into the red on Monday and U.S. stock indices stumbled from their record-setting pace.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index shed 1.46 points to 15855.76, with declines in energy and gold shares cancelling out minor gains in the materials, base metals and financials sectors.

Shares of Eldorado Gold Corp. (TSX:ELD) were among the most actively traded companies on the TSX, with the stock falling 76 cents, or 27.84 per cent, to $1.97 at Monday’s close.

The Vancouver-based gold miner cut its guidance for gold production from its Kisladag mine in Turkey to 170,000-180,000 ounces at cash costs of $500 to $550 per ounce, down from an estimate of 180,000210,000 ounces in June. It also placed its guidance for 2018 and beyond under review.

South of the border, Wall Street pulled back from all-time highs set Friday after a six-week winning streak.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 54.67 points to 23273.96, the S&P 500 index slid 10.23 to 2564.98, and the Nasdaq composite index gave back 42.22 points to 6586.83.

“We’re seeing very little in terms of reaction to the broad stock market,” said Craig Fehr, a Canadian markets strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

“If we look at global equity markets, this is just a repositioning ahead of what’s likely to be a very busy week for earnings announcements, particularly the S&P 500.”

“I think we’re seeing a little bit of repositioning domestically as well, as it relates to recalibrating expectations for the Bank of Canada and a future interest rate decision,” added Fehr.

“So we’ve seen a little bit of weakness in the loonie.”

The Canadian dollar was trading at an average price of 79.09 cents US, down 0.27 of a cent.

The Bank of Canada is scheduled to make its latest pronouncement on interest rates on Wednesday and release its updated forecast for the economy in its fall monetary policy report.

The central bank is expected to keep its target for the overnight rate on hold at one per cent, but economists will scrutinize its outlook.

The economy started the year on a hot streak posting large gains through the first six months of 2017. The strength helped convince the Bank of Canada to raise its key interest rate twice this year, but growth is expected to be slower in the second half of the year.

In commodities, the December crude contract added six cents at $51.90 US per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up eight cents to $2.99 US per mmBTU.

The December gold contract gained 40 cents to $1,280.90 US an ounce and the December copper contract advanced two cents at $3.19 US a pound.