By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com — In Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite Index closed the day at 21,180.8 points, down 1.31% in the day’s trading.
Most sectors closed in the red today, including industrial, consumer discretionary, while heavyweight financials posted a small gain. Losses were heaviest in commodities, particularly energy and metals. The TSX Global Mining Index, the benchmark for metals and mining fell 3.90%, while the TSX Canadian Energy Index was down 4.45%
Investors should note that Canada’s benchmark index has a 27% weighting towards energy and metals.
In Commodities: Crude Oil Tanks, Natural Gas Lower, Metals Recede from Recent Highs
Energy: As of 4:00 p.m ET, WTI futures for April were at USD$ 102.06, down 6.65% so far today. Natural gas futures were at USD $4.678, down 0.99% so far today. Crude tanked today while Russia-Ukraine peace talks seemed to progress, indicating a possible resolution of supply concerns. Energy was also driven downwards by a travel driven ban imposed in China, raising concerns of reduced demand from the world’s top importer of oil, LNG, and coal.
Metals: Gold was at USD $1,955.80, down 1.47% so far today, while silver futures were down 3.34% at USD $25.285. Gold and silver, traditionally safe-haven assets, saw a selloff driven by peace talks. The metals had been trading near record highs last week, at the peak of investor uncertainty due to the conflict. Copper, considered a bellwether for market sentiment, was down -2.48% today. Palladium was down a whopping 15%, likely as investors capitalized on gains from the metal’s recent all-time highs.
Currencies and Bonds: Government of Canada Bond Yields Higher as Investors Prefer Treasuries for Safe Haven
While market uncertainty continues, yield-generating treasuries seem to be the preferred safe haven for investors. Yields on Government of Canada’s benchmark 10-year bonds were at 2.175%, and yields on Government of Canada 5 year bonds were at 1.951%.
The CAD/USD pair was down -0.59% today at USD $ 0.78 to one Canadian Dollar.
In New York: S&P, Dow Jones, NASDAQ
The S&P 500 fell 0.79%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.03%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.84%. as investors sold potentially overvalued, high-growth tech stocks and rotated into value stocks ahead of the rate hike.
All currencies USD, unless noted otherwise.