Canada stocks-TSX falls more than 1% as Shopify slides
SHOP•Sector moves and Shopify decline
- Industrials .GSPTTIN were down 1.1%, while financials .SPTTFS lost 1.5% and technology ended 3.1% lower.
- Shares of e-commerce company Shopify SHOP.TO fell 7.8% to the lowest closing level since July 29.
- Of the 10 major sectors, only the defensive utilities sector .GSPTTUT and energy .SPTTEN ended higher.
- Energy added 0.9% as oil prices rose. U.S. crude oil futures CLc1 settled 1.7% higher at $93.03 a barrel after Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen attacked Saudi energy facilities.
TSX falls as financials and Shopify weigh
Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, with heavily weighted financials and shares of Shopify among the biggest decliners as investors grew cautious heading into a seasonally weak period for the market.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index .GSPTSE ended down 390.75 points, or 1.1%, at 36,123.05, extending the market's choppy pattern since it notched a record closing high of 36,957.63 on August 25.
Seasonal weakness and trade tensions add to pressure
- The U.S. benchmark, the S&P 500, also fell as software makers lost ground on worries that AI could compete with the services they offer.
- "This is part of the seasonal weakness," said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management.
- "September is usually a choppy period and I think this year is shaping up to be more the norm, that we're going to get some volatility ahead of the FOMC meeting, with the U.S. midterms and then just the uncertainty with bond yields and such."
- U.S. inflation data, due on Friday, could help guide expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week.
