Canada’s main stock index fell for a third straight session on Friday, was set to log a more than 1% fall for the week, weighed down by weakness in commodity-linked stocks and consumer firms.
At 9:40 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 65.58 points, or 0.3%, at 21,584.83.
In the prior session, the index recorded its worst decline since Jan. 21 on fears of aggressive tightening by global central banks.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday that a half-point interest rate increase would be “on the table” when the Fed meets in May.
“Coming in this morning, I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what happened yesterday and just follow through to that selling area today,” said Gregory Taylor, portfolio manager at Purpose Investments.
“Most people aren’t going to make many big bets into the weekend and there is probably going be more cautious trading.”
For the week, the benchmark index shed 1.4% and was headed for its fourth consecutive weekly losses and worst weekly performance since February.
The consumer discretionary sector was among the biggest decliners on the Toronto market, down 1.1%.
Meanwhile, the materials sector lost 0.3% as gold prices fell as the prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes denting zero-yielding bullion’s appeal.
The energy sector fell 0.1%, as oil slipped on the prospect of weaker global growth hurting demand.
On the economic front, data showed Canadian retail sales edged up 0.1% in February from January at C$59.90 billion ($47.28 billion). Sales were expected to grow 1.4% in March, Statistics Canada said.
Producer prices in Canada rose by a record 4.0% in March from February, on higher prices for energy and petroleum products, the largest monthly gain since the series began in January 1956.
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