TSX hits a new intraday high but closes lower as investors take profits in commodity names.
Gold smashed through US$5,100 an ounce on Monday, yet the S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped as profit‑taking, tariff risk and looming rate decisions prompted investors to get more defensive.
Canada’s main stock index fell 51.66 points, or 0.16 percent, to 33,093.32 after hitting an intraday record high of 33,428.44 earlier in the session, according to Reuters.
US benchmarks moved higher at the same time, leaving Canadian equities lagging.
The pullback looked more like a pause than a panic.
Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management, told Reuters that commodities “which really carried the TSX to start the year” now look a little overbought.
He said markets have “had a really good run for the last few months” and are now seeing “a little bit of profit taking.”
Sector‑wise, financials – roughly a third of the index – fell about 0.5 percent, while the energy index gained 0.5 percent.
Bombardier was the biggest individual loser, dropping 9.3 percent after a twin‑engine Bombardier jet crashed while taking off from a Maine airport with eight people aboard.
Gold’s move was the standout for asset allocators.
BNN Bloomberg reported that the metal rallied another 2.1 percent, briefly topping US$5,100 per ounce for the first time and setting a new record, before the February contract settled at US$5,082.50, up US$102.80 on the day.
Silver surged 14 percent on the session, BNN Bloomberg said, while Reuters noted silver “extended its record run and rose 5.5 percent” and that copper prices also gained.
Those moves fed directly into resource equities.
Gold miners climbed about 0.9 percent and the broader materials index also rose 0.9 percent, though both gave back stronger gains from earlier in the day as investors took profits., according to Reuters.
BNN Bloomberg reported that prices for precious metals “have been soaring as investors look for safer places to park their money amid threats of tariffs, still‑high inflation, political strife and mountains of debt for governments worldwide.”
Reuters added that gold has built on last year’s strong gains, fuelled by geopolitical tensions and concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s autonomy, even as analysts warn the rally may not be sustainable.
Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, told BNN Bloomberg that gains in gold are coming as central banks diversify their holdings and as investors look for exposure to real assets that “they hope will be their fallback if things get really bumpy.”
Trade tensions are again shaping the risk backdrop for Canadian assets.
US President Donald Trump threatened on social media to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canadian goods if Ottawa reaches a trade deal with China.
Reuters said the TSX’s decline came after Trump’s weekend threat of a 100 percent tariff on Canada if it follows through on such an agreement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney framed the comments in the context of the continent’s trade architecture. He said in Ottawa that it is “no coincidence” Trump’s latest tariff threat comes just ahead of a review of North America’s free‑trade pact, according to BNN Bloomberg.
Reuters reported that Carney also stressed Canada respects its commitments under the United States‑Mexico‑Canada Agreement not to pursue free‑trade deals with China or other “non‑market economies.”
China, for its part, responded that its bilateral economic and trade agreements with Canada are not targeted at any third party.
Schleif highlighted the importance of the regional trading block for markets.
BNN Bloomberg reported that she called North America “a huge trading block” with “a lot of important trade that goes on on both sides of the border,” and said the key is that both sides keep talking, with Mexico also needing to be factored into discussions.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.98 cents US, up from 72.82 cents US on Friday.
The March crude oil contract fell 44 cents US to US$60.63 per barrel.
