Faster-than-expected growth in Canada’s economy was overshadowed by NAFTA trade concerns as the TSX tumbled 131 points today.
StatsCan reported today that the country’s GDP grew by 0.2 percent in July, led by the manufacturing sector which bumped up 1.2 percent, marking the sector’s strongest growth since November 2017.
This raises expectations that the Bank of Canada will hike interest rates next month.
The new economic data took a backseat to the distinct possibility of Canada being left out of a remodeled NAFTA deal involving the U.S. and Mexico.
The trade troubles weighted the index with seven of 11 major sectors in the red.
Bank stocks were a significant drag on Canada’s stock exchange with the heavyweight financials sector dipping 0.9 percent.
Oil jumped $1.41 to $73.53 US a barrel, sparked by signs of global supplies tightening because of upcoming U.S. sanctions on Iran.
In New York, the Dow stayed level most of the day, pushed down by ongoing international trade issues and market-mover Tesla’s stock tumbling 13.9 percent.
Shares in the electric carmaker fell on news of the Securities and Exchange Committee launching civil action against CEO Elon Musk.
The SEC lawsuit notes that Musk’s tweet stating that he will take the company private, and had “funding secured” to do so, was “false and misleading.”
Balancing out the index was Blackberry rising 10 percent on Q2 profits that far exceeded expectations, and strong showings from Boeing and Intel.
The Dow moved 18 points higher, while it was also a flat day on the Nasdaq, which edged up four points.
Gold jumped $8.00 to $1,193 an ounce, while news of Canada’s economy growing faster than expected significantly strengthened the loonie, which rose 71/100ths of a cent to $0.7737 US.
