TSX falls as Iran-Israel tensions shake markets
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S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.42% at close
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Fall was contained by rise in energy, gold stocks
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Crude oil price up by 7% to $74.23 per barrel
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Spot gold rose 1.6% at $3,428.10 an ounce
By Ragini Mathur and Promit Mukherjee
June 13 - Canada's main stock index retreated from recent highs on Friday, dragged down by investor fears of a wider conflict after an Israeli attack and Iranian retaliation rattled global markets.
Investors rushed to safe-haven gold, pushing its price higher, while panic around the prospect of an all-out war triggered a spike in crude oil futures.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 0.42% at 26,504.35 points, falling from its all-time peak seen a day ago.
Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel, Iranian media reported. This was in response to a strike by Israel on Iran's nuclear sites, spurring widespread tensions in a politically fragile region.
Israel has warned that the strikes were the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building nuclear weapons. Iran, which produces close to 4 million barrels of crude oil per day, has promised a harsh response.
Investors on the TSX withdrew from financial, technology and industrial stocks while some poured money into energy and gold companies.
"You see a sell-off after a brief pickup because of the uncertainty of what could happen over the weekend after Iran's response," Elvis Picardo, senior portfolio manager at Luft Financial, iA Private Wealth, said.
The conflict could have reverberations across the globe, Picardo said, adding, with the Middle East, the fear is always of disruption to the flow of oil that has inflationary consequences across sectors and economies.
The fall in the composite index on the Toronto Stock Exchange was limited by gains in energy and gold mining shares as prices of crude oil and gold climbed.
Brent crude futures rose almost 7% to $74.23 a barrel. Spot gold rose 1.55% to $3,437.18 an ounce.
The capped energy index rose 2.77% and helped cushion the impact of the fall of the composite index. Energy shares account for almost 17% of the total weight on the main index.
Materials index, or the tracker of mining companies, rose 1.41% especially because of a rise in gold mining stocks as investors prefer to take refuge in the precious metal during times of uncertainty.
Mining companies claim a weight of 12.5% in the benchmark index.
The benchmark index achieved a second consecutive record high on Thursday and appears poised to secure its third straight weekly gain, provided losses remain contained.
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