Canadian Financial Close: Housing starts keep loonie from falling further

By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, OCT. 8 (MarketsFarm) – The Canadian dollar was slightly lower at market close on Tuesday, as better than expected housing starts out-weighed declines in crude oil prices.

The loonie finished the day at US$0.7506 or US$1=C$1.3323, which compares with Monday’s close of US$0.7515 or C$1.3306.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported on Tuesday that housing starts in September were approximately 221,200. Although down 2.5 per cent from starts in August, it’s above analysts’ predictions of about 214,500 starts.

Benchmark oil prices were weaker on Tuesday due to greater tensions between the United States and China ahead of their trade talks this week. The Trump administration has blacklisted eight Chinese companies, primarily in the technology sector, from doing business in the U.S.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was down 25 cents to close at US$52.47 per barrel, while Brent crude oil was down 47 cents to close at US$57.88 per barrel.

Western Canadian Select crude lost 63 cents at US$36.53 per barrel

The TSX/S&P Composite Index was down 127.80 points on Tuesday to close at 16,293.95 points, following the lead set by markets in the United States.

The U.S. actions taken against the eight Chinese companies was announced on Monday after market close, the news drove down values today by one to 1.7 per cent.

The Dow Jones dropped 313.91 points having closed at 26,164.11. The NASDAQ fell 132.51 to end the day at 7,823.78 points. The S&P 500 slid 45.75 to finish at 2,893.04 points.

The price of gold was up US$6.90 on Tuesday to close at US$1,511.30 per ounce.

Canada’s agricultural sector fared as follows:

Buhler Industries unchanged at $ 3.60
Linamar Corp. dn $ 0.61 at $ 38.04
Maple Leaf Foods dn $ 0.22 at $ 29.38
Nutrien Ltd. dn $ 0.21 at $ 64.50
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. dn $ 0.14 at $ 52.20
Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. dn $ 0.03 at $ 7.09
(All figures are in Canadian dollars.)

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