Stocks go to Earth to close out April

Stocks across North America saw a sea of ​​red on the last trading day of April 2024, as indexes suffered their worst day in months.

The TSX Composite blundered 297.08 points, or 1.4%, to end a miserable Tuesday and April at 21,714.54.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.53 cent to 72.64 cents in the US

Commodity stocks suffered their biggest black eye on Tuesday, as IAMGOLD fell 30 cents, or 5.8%, to end Tuesday at $4.90, while OceanaGold fell 26 cents, or 8%, to $2.98.

Capstone Copper fell 61 cents, or 6%, to $9.55, while Ivanhoe Mines fell two dollars, or 9.7%, to $18.61.

Energy stocks also picked up, with Baytex down 30 cents, or 5.6%, to $5.10, while IPCO fell 95 cents, or 5.3%, to $17.02.

Healthcare issues tried to even things out as Tilray jumped a dollar, or 41.5%, to $3.42, while Sienna Senior Living gained two cents to $13.42.

In communications, BCE gained 50 cents, or 1.1%, to $45.23.

Statistics Canada reported that real gross domestic product grew for the second month in a row, rising 0.2% in February.

ON BAYS STREET

The TSX Venture Exchange fell 10.54 points, or 1.8%, to 579.52.

All but two of the twelve subgroups were lower: gold fell 3.4%, energy fell 2.7% and materials fell 2.6%.

The only gainers were healthcare, which rose 8.1%, and consumer discretionary stocks, which rose 0.03%.

ON WALL STREET

Stocks fell on Tuesday to end a losing month of April, after higher-than-expected payroll data sparked fresh inflation concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrials fell 570.24 points, or 1.5%, to close Tuesday at 37,815.85, bringing its loss for the month to 4.3%.

The S&P shed 80.52 points, or 1.6%, to 5,035.65, which would mark a five-month winning streak with a 3% loss in April.

The NASDAQ shed 325.26 points, or 2%, to 15,657.82, to limit a 3% decline for the month.

Despite the April setback, the S&P 500 is still up more than 25% from last October’s lows as investors bet the economy could withstand higher interest rates and piled into AI businesses like Nvidia. Data last month raised questions about whether persistent inflation was weakening the economy while keeping the Fed restrictive. McDonald’s warned on Tuesday in its quarterly report of a more selective consumer as a result of higher prices.

The busiest week for corporate earnings is expected to continue. Amazon reports its quarterly results on Tuesday and Apple on Thursday.

The April jobs report is also expected at the end of this week, preceded on Wednesday by publications on vacancies and employment growth in the private sector.

In early earnings news, McDonald’s missed quarterly profit expectations as same-store sales fell short of expectations. Higher prices have deterred some low-income customers.

There’s a lot of economic news on the agenda this week as Fed policymakers meet for their two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to keep rates steady, but traders are concerned that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments will be more hawkish following the recent wave of warmer inflation reports.

The labor cost index, a measure of wages and benefits, rose 1.2% in the March quarter, above the 1% consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Dow Jones. Government bond yields rose as a result of the figures.

Markets are pricing in a cut of just a quarter of a percentage point in 2024, as persistent inflation and a resilient economy increase the likelihood that the Fed will stay in the market longer.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury bond fell, pushing yields up to 4.66%, up from Monday’s 4.62%. Prices and yields on government bonds move in opposite directions.

Oil prices fell 55 cents to $82.08 per barrel.

The gold price plummeted by $50.90 to $2,306.80.

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