It was an erratic day for investors as they fretted over potentially strained U.S./China trade relations and sliding oil prices.
Markets initially slumped on news of a CFO of a Chinese smartphone manufacturer being arrested in Vancouver for extradition to the U.S.
Wanzhou Meng was arrested on charges that she violated trade sanctions against Iran.
The timing of the arrest had investors worried about how it would impact trade talks between the U.S. and China, as the global superpowers look to resolve their ongoing tariff dispute.
Nervous investors dumped stocks on Bay Street. The TSX tumbled 245 points, with seven of 11 sectors in the red.
A decline in oil prices sent Canadian energy shares spiraling.
The sector dropped five percent, following crude oil which slipped $1.24 to $51.65 US a barrel as OPEC decided to delay its decision on cutting output until Friday.
Due to a glut in domestic and global inventories, the world’s largest oil exporters are looking at curbing supply to stop prices from plummeting.
Meanwhile, a day after the Bank of Canada held its interest rate steady at 1.75 percent, central bank governor Stephen Poloz spoke about the risks in Canada’s financial system.
The central bank said recent data on the Canadian economy has been “disappointing” noting that the BoC has seen weaker business investment, a slower but more stable housing sector, and a large drop in the price of oil.
In New York, the Dow had plummeted by as much as 785 points, before rallying in a big way.
Near the final bell, the index was off by just 79 points, bolstered by a Wall Street Journal report hinting that the Federal Reserve is considering slowing interest hikes next year.
However, companies with strong trade ties lost ground today. Boeing fell by three percent while Apple lost 1.1 percent. Also dropping into the red were Chevron, Exxon Mobile, and Caterpillar.
The Nasdaq also rallied, rising 29 points with gains in Amazon, Tesla, Costco, and Netflix softening offsetting in other parts of the U.S. tech sector.
The Canadian dollar was off by 14/100ths of a cent to $0.7473 US while gold edged 30 cents higher to $1,239 an ounce.
