TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index lost more than 300 points on Monday as Statistics Canada reported inflation data for June, while U.S. markets were also negative.
On Monday, Statistics Canada said lower gas prices were the major force pulling the headline inflation rate down in June. Price growth slowed to 2.8 per cent in the month, StatCan said, down from the recent high of 3.2 per cent in May and slightly lower than most economists were expecting.
However, it remains to be seen how July’s higher oil prices from a resumption of hostilities in the Middle East will affect the consumer price index (CPI) going forward.
“While this softer CPI print is broadly supportive of the Bank of Canada holding rates throughout year-end, it’s not necessarily providing a lift to Canadian equities,” said Ian Chong, portfolio manager for First Avenue Investment Counsel.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 303.53 points at 34,960.32.
On the TSX, the financial sector was the biggest weight on the overall index. Chong said the negative move was likely due to profit-taking, noting the sector has performed well since around March.
Early Monday, the U.S. launched its ninth night of airstrikes on Iran after announcing the death of another American service member. U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier,” the country “will pay for that killing many times over.”
“The divide between the U.S. and Iran is still far apart, so it’s more of the same and that seems to be driving headlines predominantly,” Chong said.
The war with Iran is keeping oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf to customers, which pushes up oil’s price.
The September crude oil contract for North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 70 cents US at US$82.48 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, swung between roughly US$86 and US$91 before settling at US$89.22, up 1.3 per cent.
Wall Street drifted to a quiet finish Monday after stocks of chipmakers and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom trimmed some of their recent losses.
Such stocks have been under pressure for weeks on worries that their prices shot too high in the euphoria around AI.
Nvidia added 0.2 per cent and held firmer following its drop on Friday, when it was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500.
Wall Street may get some hints on that soon as some of the biggest spenders on AI report their latest quarterly results. On Wednesday, Google’s parent company Alphabet will tell investors how much it made during the spring and give updates on its AI efforts.
Chong said markets will be paying close attention to how strong Alphabet’s cloud growth was during the quarter.
The Canadian dollar traded for 71.15 cents US compared with 71.36 cents US on Friday.
The August gold contract was down US$2.90 at US$4,015.90 an ounce.
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Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2026.
