Canadian Stocks Tumble As Investors Refrain From Big Bets

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks slumped on Friday as a surge in oil prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict has sharply increased inflation concerns, prompting investors to hold back from risky moves.

After opening well-below yesterday's close, today the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index traded firmly negative throughout the session before settling at 33,083.72, down by 526.25 points (or 1.57%).

Only one of the 11 sectors, healthcare, posted gains today.

On February 28, the United States and Israel commenced a military offensive against Iran, erupting a new war in the Middle East.

Soon after the war broke out, a massive U.S.-Israeli strike killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The conflict has entered its seventh day today.

U.S. President Donald Trump has categorically stated that he will not accept any deal from Iran and demanded the nation's unconditional surrender.

Iran meanwhile is targeting its neighboring nations that serve as U.S. bases.

Due to this, oil and energy transport via the Strait of Hormuz has been heavily disrupted.

Qatar has announced that the gulf nations may halt production in the coming days if the war continues and warned that oil prices may go up to $150 per barrel.

WTI Crude oil was last seen trading at around $90.20 a barrel today.

With air freight services almost fully disrupted, food supplies to the gulf nations have been under severe strain.

The war has increased global trade uncertainty, pushed up oil prices and sparked inflation concerns, and as a result, traders stayed away from risky investments.

In the U.S., data released by U.S. Labor Department today revealed that against the forecasts of a 59,000 gain, the economy shed 92,000 jobs in February (the highest in four months).

In addition, the unemployment rate has risen to 4.4% in February, up from 4.3% in January, nearing November's four-year high of 4.5%.

Despite recent clashes with Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated yesterday that he could not rule out Canada participating in the war in support of the U.S. Reaffirming his support to the U.S. in its efforts to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, Carney stated that "we will stand by our allies."

The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index released by Ivey Business School rose to 56.6 in February from 50.9 in January, indicating economic expansion. However, the Employment Index eased to 49.4 from 51.1.

The only major sector that gained in today's trading was Healthcare (0.05%).

Among the individual stocks, Curaleaf Holdings Inc (5.92%), Strathcona Resources Ltd (4.19%), George Weston Limited (2.27%), and Maple Leaf Foods (1.45%) were the prominent gainers.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Real Estate (1.61%), Financials (1.91%), Industrials (2.35%), and Consumer Discretionary (2.81%).

Among the individual stocks, Linamar Corp (7.10%), Aritzia Inc (6.12%), Tfi International Inc (6.08%), and Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (3.33%) were the notable losers.

Aecon Group Inc (7.53%) and Constellation Software Inc (5.95%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.