Energy stocks are putting weight on North American markets. The price of crude is sliding as investors fret over a spike in production while demand drops. US crude is down to 50.93 a barrel.
The TSX is down 107 points to 14,984 and the Dow is down 111 points to 24,353 as Wall Street prepares to close early this afternoon.
Stats Can is reporting a gain in GDP to 2.4 per cent in October. Despite this being higher than the Bank of Canada’s Goldilocks zone of 2 per cent, analysts don’t expect an interest rate hike next month as Alberta deals with an oil pricing crisis.
The Loonie is also taking cues from the energy issues as it falls to 75.55 cents US.
Trade war worries are weighting on investors as Donald Trump prepares to meet with his Chinese counterpart next week amid more tension between the two countries. China’s economy is also taking another hit after an outbreak of swine fever killed almost 1 million pigs. This led to a restriction on shipments of pork products.
Reports suggest an early start to Black Friday across the border led to billions in online purchases yesterday evening.
