Canada Stocks: TSX falls the most since March as U.S. downgrade spooks investors

Brookfield Renewable Partners LP

02/08/2023 21:25

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      TSX ends down 1.5%, at 20,218.21
    

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      Posts biggest decline since mid-March
    

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      Tech falls near 4%; Shopify ends nearly 7% lower
    

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      Materials sector loses 2.3%
    

  
 (Updates at market close)
    By Fergal Smith
       Aug 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to a
two-week low on Wednesday, with the technology sector leading
broad-based declines as Fitch's move to downgrade the U.S.
government's credit rating spooked investors globally.
    The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
 .GSPTSE  ended down 314.72 points, or 1.5%, at 20,218.21. It
was the biggest decline since March 15 and the lowest closing
level since July 17.
    The U.S. downgrade "put all of the markets globally on a bit
of notice and with that the fears of recession are a little bit
more extended," said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung
Investment Management.
    Wall Street also dropped as Fitch downgraded the United
States to AA+ from AAA.
    All of the Toronto market's 10 major sectors lost ground,
including a near 4% drop in technology as e-commerce company
Shopify Inc  SHOP.TO  ended down nearly 7%.
    The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, lost 2.3% as gold and copper
prices fell.
    Oil  CLc1  settled 2.3% lower at $79.49 a barrel, weighing
on the energy sector. It fell 1.7% and heavily-weighted
financials ended 1.1% lower.
    "You can buy a lot of yield currently that hasn't been
available in years in fairly stable, strong financial stocks.
And there are better buys to be had, certainly in energy,"
Sprung said. "Overall, I think there are places to be, it's just
that you're going to have to live through a bit of a painful
period here."    
    Britain's competition regulator said it was investigating
Cameco Corp  CCO.TO  and Brookfield Renewable Partners'
 BEP_u.TO  $7.9 billion deal to acquire nuclear power plant
equipment maker Westinghouse Electric. Cameco's shares lost 3.5%
and Brookfield Renewable Partners was down 4.7%.
    Shares of Thomson Reuters Corp  TRI.TO  were a bright spot,
rising 1.7% after the company reported higher sales and
operating profit in the second quarter.

 (Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Siddarth S in
Bengaluru; Editing by Milla Nissi and Grant McCool)
 ((fergal.smith@thomsonreuters.com; +1 647 480 7446))