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TSX ends down 259.81 points, or 1.3%, at 20,086.72
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Posts its lowest close since Jan. 11
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Nuvei Corp jumps on rating upgrade
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Linamar Corp slumps on Q4 earnings miss
(Adds details throughout and updates prices to close)
By Johann M Cherian and Fergal Smith
March 9 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index fell
on Thursday to its lowest closing level in nearly two months,
tracking declines on Wall Street as investors grew nervous ahead
of the release of U.S. and Canadian employment reports on
Friday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended down 259.81 points, or 1.3%, at 20,086.72, its
lowest close since Jan. 11.
Wall Street's major indexes also posted steep declines as
investors worried that the U.S. jobs report for February could
spur aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Markets have been on edge after Fed Chair Jerome Powell
delivered a message this week of higher and potentially faster
rate hikes.
The Bank of Canada needs more evidence to gauge if interest
rates are high enough to tame inflation, in part because the
economies of major trading partners are doing better than
forecast, Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said.
On Wednesday, the BoC left its policy rate on hold at 4.50%.
Financials, the most heavily weighted sector on the TSX,
fell 1.8%, while both consumer discretionary and materials,
which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer
companies, ended 1.7% lower.
Linamar Corp slumped 13.7% after the auto parts
manufacturer missed quarterly profit estimates.
Nuvei Corp was a bright spot. It rose 6.6% after
Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "neutral".
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar and Lisa Shumaker)
