S&P/TSX composite down almost 75 points, U.S. markets also slip

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 73.38 points at 19,884.58.

Markets in Canada and the U.S. slipped for a second day in a row, with losses in energy, information technology, utilities and metals leading Canada’s main stock index downward.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 73.38 points at 19,884.58. The energy index was down 0.56 per cent, while utilities were down 1.24 per cent, information technology 1.80 per cent, base metals 1.86 per cent and battery metals 2.35 per cent.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 7.51 points at 33,546.32.The S&P 500 index was down 12.23 points at 3,946.56, while the Nasdaq composite was down 38.70 points at 11,144.96.

Investors are taking a pause after last week’s surprisingly optimistic inflation numbers out of the U.S., said Vincent Tonietto, a senior vice-president and portfolio manager at Fiduciary Trust Canada. He said now investors are trying to anticipate what could come next, including when it comes to central banks’ final meeting of the year.

Investors are looking at the data and asking themselves, “What’s coming up next? And ultimately, what’s the economic cost of achieving those numbers?” said Tonietto.

Both the Canadian and U.S. central banks have signalled another rate hike is coming in 2022, but the question of how big those hikes will be is still on investors’ minds, especially after Canadian inflation data this week was not as sunny as the U.S.

Inflation in Canada stayed steady in October at 6.9 per cent.

On Thursday, a Fed official said the central bank may have to continue hiking in order to curb inflation.