(Toronto) The main Canadian stock index closed lower on Wednesday, in a widespread decline.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 94.40 points to 21,516.90.
The drop marks a continuation of the market decline that has seen the TSX index fall about 4.4% over the past month, while the New York S&P is up 3.5%, Michael Currie said. , Senior Investment Advisor at TD Wealth Management.
“So we definitely have a tale of two markets here: the United States continues to strengthen, while Canada continues to weaken,” Currie argued.
“It’s certainly not a collapse, but the general trend has been negative and that seems to be more of what continues today,” he added.
The decline in the Canadian market occurred while U.S. markets were closed for the June 19 holiday.
The holiday also led to lower trading in Canada, with about 96 million shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, compared to an average volume of 226 million.
The industrials and healthcare sectors posted the largest declines, down around 0.95% and 1.1% respectively, while financials fell 0.5% and energy about 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar stood at 72.94 US cents, up from 72.87 US cents on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada released a summary of its deliberations on its decision earlier in June to lower its key rate for the first time in more than four years.
Deliberations showed the central bank’s governing council was considering waiting until July to cut rates.
Some worry that as the Bank of Canada begins to lower its key rate, the loonie will slide against the U.S. dollar, but so far it hasn’t come under too much pressure.
“The Canadian dollar is holding up quite well,” said Mr. Currie.
He added that while the deliberations reveal some hesitation on the part of the Bank of Canada, markets are still betting about 65% for another cut in July.
The New York Commodity Exchange was also closed for the holiday in the United States.