The inflation surprise weighed heavily on the materials sector, which fell 6.9 percent as gold prices retreated more than 3 percent—the steepest drop in years, according to Bloomberg.
Investors booked profits after the precious metal reached record highs in the previous session, leaving gold miners—now a 12 percent weighting on the TSX—among the hardest hit.
“It is fairly clear that the material sector is going to take it on the chin today, given what’s happening in gold and silver prices,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, as reported by Reuters.
Meanwhile, heavyweight financials managed a modest gain of 0.2 percent, benefitting from tempered rate-cut expectations.
Scotiabank strategists, as cited by Bloomberg, believe that strong quarterly reports from US banks bode well for Canadian banks, which account for 30 percent of the S&P/TSX Composite…
