Canadian stocks plunge as gold sells off

Canadian stocks plunged Friday, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index falling more than 900 points, as a sharp drop in gold prices and renewed worries about U.S. monetary policy rattled investors and dragged down the commodity-heavy market.

At press time, the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index was down 10.1%

The selloff was led by materials and energy shares after gold prices slid steeply and oil also moved lower. Mining companies, which carry significant weight in the benchmark index, were among the day’s biggest decliners as investors moved away from commodities and other risk-sensitive assets.

Market sentiment was further pressured by developments in the United States, where Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve. Warsh is widely viewed by markets as relatively hawkish on inflation, raising concerns that U.S. interest rates could remain higher for longer.

Expectations of tighter monetary policy helped push the U.S. dollar higher, a move that typically weighs on commodity prices by making them more expensive for buyers using other currencies. For Canada, whose stock market is heavily exposed to gold, base metals and energy, the impact was immediate.

Energy shares also slipped as oil prices retreated amid easing supply concerns and a cautious outlook for global demand. Financial stocks offered little support, with banks trading lower as bond yields moved unevenly and investors reassessed the outlook for economic growth.

The decline comes as markets await upcoming economic data in both Canada and the United States, including fresh readings on growth and inflation that could influence central bank policy expectations.

By midday trading, the TSX was down roughly 3%, marking one of its sharpest single-day drops in recent months and underscoring how sensitive the Canadian market remains to swings in commodities and global interest-rate expectations.

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