CANADA STOCKS-TSX records third week of losses as Middle East tensions dent sentiment
By Rashika Singh and Nivedita Balu
March 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Friday amid broad declines across sectors, recording its third straight weekly loss, as the conflict in the Middle East showed no signs of cooling.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 1.69%, at 31,317.23. The index fell 3.8%this week.
All major sectors on the TSX were in negative territory, with materials .GSPTTMT leading losses, down 3.1%, as spot silver XAG= and gold XAU= tumbled. Stocks of miners Endeavor Silver EDR.TO and Lundin Gold LUG.TO declined 4.5% and 5.4% respectively.
Energy stocks .SPTTEN fell 0.6%, tracking a dip in oil prices, amid renewed efforts by the U.S. to ease supply disruptions. Major European nations, Japan and Canada issued a joint statement backing efforts to secure safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. O/R
"The market has been conditioned to buy dips and think this is all short-term. The fear right now is that this is going to drag on a lot longer than we had expected. ... There is a lot of nervousness heading into the weekend," said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management.
"When we come back on Monday, it's really all going to come back to what the oil price does, what happens geopolitically... that's going to set the tone for the week," Taylor said.
In a week packed with central bank meetings, most policymakers, including at the Bank of Canada, kept interest rates on hold, but stressed their readiness to hike rates if inflation pressures persisted.
The war-driven jump in crude prices has fueled inflation concerns and Canada's resource-heavy index is especially sensitive to oil-price swings because the commodity is among the country's top exports.
The TSX closed at its lowest level since December, extending its total decline since the Iran war began to nearly 9%.
On the data front, Canada's retail sales rose in January to C$69.65 billion ($50.81 billion), up 1.1% from the previous month, driven by stronger sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
