Canada’s main stock index retreated slightly on Thursday after hitting a 20-month high the day before, while a pair of reports held back growth in U.S. markets as well as north of the border.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 86.53 points, 0.41 per cent, to close at 20,929.38.
“Oil is down a lot today,” noted Jules Boudreau, a senior economist at Mackenzie Investments.
The 1.4 per cent drop in the energy index also hurt oil-linked currencies, including Canada’s. The loonie traded for 75.69 cents U.S. compared with 75.73 cents U.S. on Wednesday.
Recently, the TSX has hit highs not seen since April 2022, “but it’s still one of the worst-performing markets in December,” Boudreau said, attributing Canada’s relatively poor performance to the falling price of oil and the sturdy Canadian dollar.
“If you have a higher Canadian dollar, that will tend to be negative for the TSX.”
Meanwhile, the three main U.S. indexes…
