TSX falls as tech, healthcare shares weigh, US tariffs loom

Canada’s main stock index fell on Monday, hurt by information technology and healthcare shares, as investors remained risk-averse ahead of potential U.S. tariffs.

At 10:30 a.m. ET (1503 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.3% at 25,068.54, its lowest level since February 3.

Among sectors, information technology and healthcare led the declines, down over 2% each. The heavily-weighted energy sector lost 0.43% as oil
prices edged lower in the day.

Canada and Mexico are set to intensify discussions to avoid 25% tariffs on their exports to the U.S. ahead of a March 4 deadline.

The two north American countries have taken steps to beef up border security, which bought them about a month’s reprieve from the tariffs that could wreak havoc on a highly integrated economy of the region.

TSX hits two-week low as commodity-linked stocks drag

“It’s very hard to say what the real objective of the new U.S. administration is, whether it is really just something that can be addressed from increasing border security,” said Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones Investments.

Top domestic lenders are set to report later this week, starting with Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia, also known as Scotiabank, on Tuesday.

Trump’s proposed 25% tariff on all non-energy Canadian imports may lead banks to set aside additional funds, despite anticipated gains from capital markets and wealth management in the first quarter.

Among individual stocks, Calibre Mining was among the worst performers on TSX, down 6.7% after mid-tier gold producer Equinox Gold on Sunday said it would buy all outstanding shares of the mining company.