Headlines drive Monday markets down, except tech
Though the TSX closed -1.09%, it completed August with its fifth-straight monthly gain despite being handicapped by historically weak oil prices. Headlines dominated the Toronto exchange to start the week. Ottawa has agreed to buy over 100 million COVID vaccines from Novavax and Johnson & Johnson, which are in the middle of testing their vaccines. Novavax surged 2.41% though JNJ closed -0.15%.
In the beaten-up energy space, M&A continued with Whitecap Resources buying NAL Resources in an all-stock $155 million deal. Shareholders rewarded WCP with a 1.58% stock boost in heavy trading. ON the flipside, Premium Brands Holdings announced it would buy Global Gourmet Foods and Allseas Fisheries, but PBH closed -1.4%. Materials were the only TSX sector which showed green, while energy suffered a 3% drop. A barrel of WCS fell 1.25% and WTI by 0.5%. The weak US greenback allowed the Canadian dollar to continue to rally, up 0.38% to $76.63.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq made another closing high, climbing 0.68% and finishing strong. Stock splits by Apple and Tesla helped propel the index. Apple jumped 3.39% to $129.04 while Tesla soared 12.57% to $498.32. By the way, Tesla’s PE is currently 1,290x. Despite closing Monday -0.22%, the S&P enjoyed its best August since 1986 while the Dow ended the session -0.78%. Of the Dow components, only the Dow escaped a sell-off. A headline that will have ramifications to come is the Chinese government blocking the sale of Tiktok U.S. operations, which pressured suitors on Monday like Microsoft, closing -1.48%.
💉 Novavax Inc +2.41%
🧴 Johnson & Johnson -0.15%
🛢 Whitecap Resources +1.58%
🥫 Premium Brands Holdings Corp -1.40%
🍎 Apple +3.39%
🚗 Tesla Motors Inc +12.57%
Ⓜ Microsoft -1.48%
