The week got off to a wonky start, as indexes throughout North America suffered heavy losses Monday, as threats of crippling tariffs by the Trump White House appeared to be coming true.
The TSX Composite Index weakened 391.88 points, or 1.5%, to close Monday at 25,001.57.
The Canadian dollar caved 0.28 cents to 68.95 cents U.S.
As the clock ticked towards the deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the tariffs on Canada and Mexico were slated to take effect on Tuesday.
However, President Trump will decide whether to maintain the proposed 25% tariff rate, leaving investors anxious.
Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a CNBC interview that if the U.S. imposes tariffs, Canada will retaliate.
Among individual stocks, Interfor lost $1.52, or 7.7%, to end the session at $15.62, while Ivanhoe Mines sagged $1.05, or 7.7%, to $12.68.
Energy stocks took a pasting, as Baytex Energy dropped 28 cents, or 8.5%, to $3.00, while Veren Inc. retreated 82 cents, or 10.4%, to $7.08.
Among techs, Celestica ditched $20.00, or 13%, to $134.48, BlackBerry lost 46 cents, or 6.7%, to $6.36.
Communications provided some brightness, as BCE captured 53 cents, or 1.6%, to $33.95, while Quebecor surged 64 cents, or 1.9%, to $33.69.
In real-estate, units of First Capital REIT gained 40 cents, or 2.4%, to $16.93. Boardwalk REIT picking up $1.14, or 1.8%, to $64.93.
The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.8 in February from 51.6 in the previous month, contrasting sharply with market expectations of 51.9 to mark the first decline in factory activity since August of last year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 19.4 points, or 3.2%, to 595.24.
All but two of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground, with energy fumbling 5.9%, while information technology off 4%, and materials sliding 1.5%.
The two gainers were telecoms, ahead 0.7%, and real-estate inching forward 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 retreated on Monday, extending February’s rout and turning red for the year after President Donald Trump’s confirmation of forthcoming tariffs ratcheted up economic concerns.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 649.67 points, to close Monday at 43,191.24.
The much-broader index forked over 104.78 points, or 1.8%, to 5,849.22
The NASDAQ Composite stumbled 497.08 points, or 2.6%, to 18,350.19, weighed down by Nvidia’s decline of more than 9%.
All three indexes traded higher earlier in the session, with the Dow at one point up nearly 200 points. Stocks took a notable leg down in afternoon trading following Trump’s reiteration that 25% levies on imports from Mexico and Canada would go into effect on Tuesday, dashing investors’ hopes of a last-minute deal to avert the full tariffs on the two U.S. allies.
Trump also signed an action to impose an additional 10% tariff on China, according to an administration official.
A risk-off move ensued, hitting everything from technology to small caps. Beyond Nvidia, one-time popular artificial intelligence plays like Broadcom and Super Micro Computer also plunged.
Elsewhere, cryptocurrencies rallied after Trump announced the creation of a strategic crypto reserve for the U.S. that will include bitcoin and ether. Bitcoin briefly jumped 10% to nearly $94,000 after dipping to a three-month low under $80,000 on Friday. Shares of crypto exchange stocks including Coinbase, Robinhood and MicroStrategy rose.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury popped, lowering yields to 4.16%, compared to Friday’s 4.21%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $1.48 to $68.28 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold strengthened $51.30 an ounce to $2,899.80 U.S.
