FINANCIAL MARKETS

TORONTO (CP) — Weakness in the technology sector weighed on North American stock markets Monday while the loonie shot up after “hawkish” comments about the economy by the Bank of Canada’s second in command.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 89.41 points to 15,383.80 at the close.

The TSX came under pressure from information technology stocks including BlackBerry (TSX:BB), which saw its shares drop 74 cents or 4.98 per cent to $14.11. CGI Group (TSX:GIB.A) fell 99 cents or 1.47 per cent to $66.15.

In New York, stock indexes slipped again Monday as U.S. technology companies suffered a second day of sharp losses. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shed $3.56 or 2.39 per cent to US$145.42. Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Facebook and Microsoft also sank, as other 2017 top performers like Activision Blizzard, Netflix and Skyworks Solutions tumbled.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 32.45 points to 6,175.47, while the Dow Jones industrial average lost 36.30 points at 21,235.67 and the S&P 500 index shed 2.38 points to 2,429.39.

The technology sector has made strong gains this year but investors are selling some of the best-performing stocks, said Craig Fehr, a Canadian markets strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

“I don’t necessary view this as a crack in the overall bull market that’s going to get larger,” he said.