Canada Stocks: Toronto stocks drop as miners and energy stocks slide

Bausch Health Companies

03/09/2024 16:04

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      TSX down 1.5%
    

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      Materials and energy lead the sectoral losses
    

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      Canadian manufacturing activity lifts to a five-month high
    

  
 (Updated at 11:02 a.m. ET/ 1502 GMT)
    By Nikhil Sharma
       Sept 3 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell more
than 1% on Tuesday, tracking major declines in materials and
energy stocks, while investors awaited the Bank of Canada's
monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
    At 11:01 a.m. ET (15:01 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index  .GSPTSE  was down 354.76 points, or
1.52%, at 22,991.42, looking at its worst day since August 2.
    The materials sector  .GSPTTMT  led sectoral losses and
dropped 4.4% as gold prices declined. Copper prices also fell to
a two-week low hurt by weak Chinese economy.  GOL/   MET/L 
    The energy sector  .SPTTEN  fell 3.4% after oil prices
dropped more than 3% due to sluggish economic growth in China.
 O/R 
    At least nine major sectors pared losses. The healthcare
 .GSPTTHC  and capped communications  .GSPTTTS  sectors were the
only outliers, rising 0.2 and 0.3%, respectively, with Bausch
Health Companies'  BHC.TO  3% gain supporting healthcare stocks.
        On Wall Street, the main indexes fell more than 1% as
investors assessed latest factory activity data that edged up in
August from an eight-month low in July.  .N 
  
    The Bank of Canada is set to hold its policy meeting on
Wednesday, in which it is widely expected to lower its policy
rates by 25 basis points for the third time in a row.
 0#BOCWATCH 
    "Lending rates are still very high. So, to me, it's the
start of an interest rate decreasing cycle that will continue
going forward, until the Bank of Canada finds that neutral rate
whatever that may be," said Allan Small, senior investment
advisor at Allan Small Financial Group with iA Private Wealth.
    Canadian manufacturing activity rose to a five-month high to
49.5 in August as production and new orders fell at slower
rates.
    In other news, China said it plans to start an anti-dumping
investigation into canola imports from Canada, after Ottawa
moved to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.


 (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya
Biswas and Janane Venkatraman)
 ((Nikhil.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))