Trade tariffs and a plunge in gold prices affected North American markets today.
Gold fell $11.50, ending a four-day streak.
The TSX edged 20 points lower, with six of the index’s 11 major sectors in the red. Gains in the energy and industrials sectors kept Canada’s stock exchange in check, along with CIBC reporting Q3 earnings of $1.4 billion.
CIBC’s stock rose 0.55 percent to $122.40 a share.
Trade uncertainty ruled the day in New York, with the latest rounds of tariffs between U.S. and China kicking in today. This caused some hand-wringing on Wall Street as the Dow dropped 76 points, while the Nasdaq lost 10 points.
With investors flocking to the safety of the greenback, the loonie lost nearly half a cent, dropping to $0.7645 US.
And after jumping more than $2.00 on Wednesday, oil was flat today at $67.86 US a barrel.
While talks between the U.S. and China continue in Washington, a trade war between the global economic superpowers appears to be escalating.
The U.S. slapped 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese goods today, and China struck back with 25 per cent tariffs on an equal amount of U.S. goods.