Canada’s main stock index and the loonie were moderately lower Monday morning, continuing a downward trend that began last week and took the Canadian dollar to a 19-month low against the American dollar.
The Canadian dollar traded at 73.67 cents US, compared with average of 73.71 cents US on Friday.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 45.80 points at 13,889.64 after the first 90 minutes of a shortened trading day. The Toronto Stock Exchange closes at 1 p.m. and reopens Thursday after a two-day holiday.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 309.15 points at 22,136.22. The S&P 500 index was down 19.05 points at 2,397.83, while the Nasdaq composite was down 223.36 points at 6,305.03.
The February crude contract was down 91 cents at US$44.68 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down 20 cents at $3.55 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was up $10.30 at US$1,268.40 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a cent at US$2.67 a pound.