Morning Market Breakdown, March 19: Markets Struggle Monday Morning

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) finished the week strong on Friday (March 16), picking up 40.71 points to finish at 15,711.33.

Monday (March 19) morning saw the TSX fall 43.85 points to land at 15,667.48.

Also closing on a strong note was the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX), which ended at 828.34, a 5.59-point gain. The TSXV was on the up Monday morning when it gained 5.27 points to reach 838.94.

Energy and healthcare stocks helped the TSX stay in the green throughout Friday, as Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) picked up 84 cents and TransCanada (TSX:TRP) grabbed 12 cents. Meanwhile, Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED) gained 99 cents and Aphria (TSX:APH) rose 23 cents.

Friday was also kind to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI), which finished in the green with a 72.85-point boost, landing at 24,946.51. Monday morning it took a tumble, hitting 24,769.98.

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slid into the green at Friday’s close when it reached 2,752.01, a 4.68-point win. Monday morning it dropped 18.47 points and landed at 2,733.54.

While the Dow ended the week in the green, it lost 1.5 percent on the week. This was partially due to Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) share price dropping 6.8 percent in the midst of trade war fears.

Note: All numbers shown above were accurate as of 10:00 a.m. EST.

Daily metals

Gold rested on Friday after a rough week, finishing at US$1,313.88 per ounce. It stayed stagnant on Monday morning at US$1,313.60. Silver tumbled to US$16.32 an ounce at Friday’s close, and continued to fall on Monday morning, hitting US$16.29.

Copper ended a choppy week on Friday at US$3.10 per pound. By 10:00 a.m. EST on Monday, it had slipped further to US$3.09.

Major miner news

• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL): Hecla Mining announced plans to acquire all outstanding shares of Klondex Mines (TSX:KDX,NYSE:KLDX), along with the company’s Fire Creek, Midas and Hollister gold mines. The transaction is costing Hecla US$462 million, and Klondex shareholders will receive US$2.47 per share.

• First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR): The company has renewed its share repurchase program, through which it has proposed to buy back up to 8.2 million common shares, representing 5 percent of its 1.6 million issued and outstanding shares.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.