TSX posts longest losing streak in 14 months, hurt by weak loonie
TSX ends down 0.6% at 24,413.94
Posts lowest closing level since Nov. 5
Materials sector loses 0.9%
Energy falls 0.8%; oil settles nearly 1% lower
Updates at market close
By Fergal Smith
Dec 19 (Reuters) -Canada's main stock index fell to a six-week low on Thursday, including losses for resource and industrial shares, as investors weighed the potential impact on returns of a more hawkish Federal Reserve and a weaker Canadian dollar.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended down 143.06 points, or 0.6%, at 24,413.94, its lowest closing level since Nov. 5 and the sixth straight day of declines. That's the longest daily losing streak since October 2023.
"I am quite encouraged by the TSX going forward but near-term this could be a reaction to not only the Fed but reaction to the (Canadian) dollar as well," said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
"If foreign investors don't want to absorb a weaker Canadian dollar, then they're probably pulling out. And the view on the dollar continues to be weaker, so that could be driving some of the short-term market moves."
The Canadian dollar touched its weakest intraday level since March 2020 at 1.4467 before clawing back some of its recent declines. On Wednesday, the Fed signaled it would slow the pace of interest rate cuts.
All ten major sectors ended lower. The materials group, which includes fertilizer companies and metal mining shares, was down 0.9% as the price of copper HGc1 fell.
Oil also lost ground, settling nearly 1% lower at $69.91 a barrel. Energy declined 0.8%.
Industrials were down 1.2%, including declines for railroad shares. Real estate ended 1.5% lower as bond yields climbed.
The Canadian 10-year yield was up 13.2 basis points at 3.357%, its highest level since Nov. 25.
Canada's new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the country's financial reserves are enough to support businesses and individuals if the United States imposes a major new tariff.
Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Ragini Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Alistair Bell
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