Monday, January 21, 2008 11:28:26 AM
Its a fkn mess out there...
TSX plunges more than 500 points
Last Updated: Monday, January 21, 2008 | 10:44 AM ET
CBC News
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted more than 500 points in morning trading Monday as it joined a worldwide market sell-off prompted by growing worries of a U.S. recession.
S&P/TSX composite index 3-month chart
The benchmark index was down 511 points at 12,225. That's its lowest level in 14 months.
Every sector was down, led by resource and financial stocks. The TSX metals and mining index dropped 5.9 per cent; the energy group slumped 4.5 per cent; financials fell 3.1 per cent.
Monday's sell-off slashed another $70 billion in market value from the TSX. Since the start of the year, the fall in its total market capitalization is approaching $250 billion.
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Weighing on the benchmark Canadian stock index on Monday was a big drop in the price of oil. The price for light sweet crude oil for February delivery was down $1.62 US a barrel at $88.95 US a barrel.
Gold prices also plunged $10 to $871.70 US an ounce.
The TSX endured a four-day sell-off last week that sliced 961 points from the benchmark index. The 6.6 per cent drop in the index last week was its worst weekly performance since 2000.
Asian, European markets down sharply
Asian stock markets set the early tone for Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 23,818.86 on Monday, down 1,383.01 points or 5.49 per cent. That was the index's biggest drop since Sept. 11, 2001. Indices in Japan, Australia and China all finished with losses of at least 2.9 per cent.
The selling pressure spread to Europe, where the Financial Times 100-share index was down 3.7 per cent, at 5,684.60.
Frankfurt's Dax index was down more than six per cent, while France's CAC 40 index was down five per cent.
U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but market futures for the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P were all sharply lower. The Dow's slide in its last four trading days totalled 679 points.
"People are certainly nervous about a potential recession in the U.S. spilling over to the rest of the world," said David Cohen, director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore.
"Maybe there's still some wariness about [whether] politicians are able to come up with a compromise and act sufficiently quickly" on a stimulus package, Cohen said. "I think the impact would be marginal anyway."
Canadian investors are looking ahead to Tuesday's Bank of Canada decision on interest rates. Economists see the Canadian central bank cutting its key overnight lending rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to four per cent.
With files from the Associated Press
TSX plunges more than 500 points
Last Updated: Monday, January 21, 2008 | 10:44 AM ET
CBC News
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted more than 500 points in morning trading Monday as it joined a worldwide market sell-off prompted by growing worries of a U.S. recession.
S&P/TSX composite index 3-month chart
The benchmark index was down 511 points at 12,225. That's its lowest level in 14 months.
Every sector was down, led by resource and financial stocks. The TSX metals and mining index dropped 5.9 per cent; the energy group slumped 4.5 per cent; financials fell 3.1 per cent.
Monday's sell-off slashed another $70 billion in market value from the TSX. Since the start of the year, the fall in its total market capitalization is approaching $250 billion.
Continue Article
Weighing on the benchmark Canadian stock index on Monday was a big drop in the price of oil. The price for light sweet crude oil for February delivery was down $1.62 US a barrel at $88.95 US a barrel.
Gold prices also plunged $10 to $871.70 US an ounce.
The TSX endured a four-day sell-off last week that sliced 961 points from the benchmark index. The 6.6 per cent drop in the index last week was its worst weekly performance since 2000.
Asian, European markets down sharply
Asian stock markets set the early tone for Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 23,818.86 on Monday, down 1,383.01 points or 5.49 per cent. That was the index's biggest drop since Sept. 11, 2001. Indices in Japan, Australia and China all finished with losses of at least 2.9 per cent.
The selling pressure spread to Europe, where the Financial Times 100-share index was down 3.7 per cent, at 5,684.60.
Frankfurt's Dax index was down more than six per cent, while France's CAC 40 index was down five per cent.
U.S. stock markets are closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but market futures for the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P were all sharply lower. The Dow's slide in its last four trading days totalled 679 points.
"People are certainly nervous about a potential recession in the U.S. spilling over to the rest of the world," said David Cohen, director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore.
"Maybe there's still some wariness about [whether] politicians are able to come up with a compromise and act sufficiently quickly" on a stimulus package, Cohen said. "I think the impact would be marginal anyway."
Canadian investors are looking ahead to Tuesday's Bank of Canada decision on interest rates. Economists see the Canadian central bank cutting its key overnight lending rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to four per cent.
With files from the Associated Press
Just my opinion...
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