TSX slips marginally after index’s longest winning streak since 2021

Investing.com - Canada’s main stock exchange ended just below flatline on Monday, in the first trading of November for the index following six straight months of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index was marginally down 20 points or 0.07% at 30,240.88. 

On Friday, index rose by 0.3% to 30,260.74. For the month, the average edged up by 0.8%, securing its longest winning streak since 2021.

Sentiment remained resilient despite data which pointed to a contraction in Canadian growth in August. Still, an advance estimate indicated that the economy may have been able to avert a recession in the third quarter.

Financials and consumer discretionary stocks both climbed during the last trading day of October, offsetting a dip in the materials group, which was pulled down by a drop in gold prices.

U.S. stocks mixed 

U.S. stock futures rose after a positive October, with a raft of fresh corporate earnings in the spotlight as the ongoing government shutdown limits the release of key economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 212 points, or 0.3%, the S&P 500 index gained 4 points, or 0.05%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 108 points, or 0.5%.

The main averages of Wall Street ended higher on Friday, finishing off a busy week filled with mega-cap technology sector earnings, central bank interest rate decisions, and face-to-face trade talks between U.S. and Chinese leaders.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively, in October, while the NASDAQ Composite outperformed, gaining 4.7%.

Palantir leads earnings parade

More than 300 S&P 500 companies have posted third-quarter results thus far, and of those, over 80% have beaten expectations, according to data from FactSet.

There are another 100-plus companies reporting this week, including data analytics giant Palantir Technologies after the closing bell on Monday.

In August, the company, whose operations also involve software for the the defense sector, lifted its full-year revenue forecast for the second time in 2025, citing strong demand for its AI-linked services from both businesses and governments.

Advanced Micro Devices will report on Tuesday, with investors eyeing AI chip demand after strong results from rivals.

Meanwhile, Uber Technologies and McDonald’s are due on Wednesday, offering a snapshot of consumer spending and service-sector resilience.

Payrolls set to be shutdown casualty

The ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which is flirting with becoming the longest such closure in American history, has left investors and Fed policymakers without a range of critical data points needed to establish the state of the U.S. economy.

The trend is likely to continue this week, depriving markets of the latest nonfarm payrolls report, an all-important gauge of employment in the world’s largest economy that is typically released on the first Friday of every month. A tracker of job openings and labor turnover is also set to be postponed.

Investors are likely to turn to the ISM manufacturing release for November, which contains the employment component, due later in the session, for clues, as well as Wednesday’s ADP jobs release.

Last week by the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4.00%. While Chair Jerome Powell signaled that future cuts are not guaranteed, investors welcomed the move as a sign that the central bank remains committed to supporting growth amid easing inflation pressures.

Crude reverses gains after OPEC+ meeting

Oil prices fell, reversing earlier gains, after a group of major producers decided against output hikes in the first quarter of next year, easing fears of a global supply glut.

Brent futures slipped 0.5% to $64.42 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 0.6% to $60.62 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise output by 137,000 barrels per day in December, the same as for October and November.

This decision had been widely trailed, however the cartel -- which has now raised its production quota by about 2.9 million bpd so far in 2025 -- also said it will pause its recent production hikes in the first three months of 2026.

OPEC+ cited concerns over a supply glut and sluggish demand, with January-March seen as the weakest quarter for oil demand.

Gold steady

Gold prices hovered above the flatline, but remained under pressure after two consecutive weekly losses as uncertainty over future U.S. interest rate cuts and easing trade tensions reduced demand for the safe-haven metal.

Spot gold was last up 0.1% at $4,004.29 an ounce by 06:43 ET, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.5% to $4,015.45.

Gold prices fell more than 2% last week, marking their second straight weekly loss. Still, the metal posted nearly 4% monthly gains for October.