S&P/TSX down Friday as markets continue to grapple with bank collapses

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 151.29 points at 19,387.72, and closed out the week down almost two per cent as oil prices tanked.

Canada’s main stock index closed down over 150 points Friday, with U.S. indexes also posting losses, as the globe continued to grapple with a crisis of confidence in the financial system triggered by two U.S. bank failures.

“This crisis was a bit of a sucker-punch to the market,” said Pierre-Benoit Gauthier, assistant vice-president of investment strategy at IG Wealth Management.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 151.29 points at 19,387.72, and closed out the week down almost two per cent as oil prices tanked.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 384.57 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 31,861.98.The S&P 500 index was down 43.64 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 3,916.64, while the Nasdaq composite was down 86.76 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 11,630.51.

Investors flocked to gold, a historical safe haven, noted Gauthier, and gold prices rose steadily amid the chaos, nearing US$2,000 on Friday.

Meanwhile, investors with a diversified portfolio were shored up against major losses as the correlation between bonds and stocks broke down, he said.

Stocks were down this week but fixed-income values went up, a marked difference from last year when both types of investments did poorly, said Gauthier.

The market started pricing in not only a more dovish decision from the Federal Reserve next week but also potential for multiple rate cuts in the near future, a significant difference from what it was expecting just a week ago.